Pokémon: Ash's Yellow Rodent
by Essteka
Summary: AU; mix of the game with the anime. Ash Ketchum is a young boy who starts his journey as a Pokémon Trainer. He gets his first Pokémon, who happens to be a Pikachu...
1. When Ash Meet Pikachu

For many years, I've always wanted to do some sort of Alternate Universe-style fanfic, one where that would be sorta-similar to Marvel's Ultimate Universe. The problem is I didn't know which franchise I like that I would be able to do such a fanfic about. I thought about the Super Mario Bros. series, the Sonic the Hedgehog series, the TMNT series, the Naruto series, etc. I didn't know how I would do any of those. And then, I got an idea. How about I make one about Pokémon? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea for me to try.

This fanfic is based on "Pokémon: Yellow Version", and will have several elements from the TV show added in, aside from just the ones that were also put in that game. I will also add several twists of my own. My goal with this fanfic will be to make it better than the TV show. I have no idea if I'll succeed, but I can at least try it.

Anyway, here's the first chapter.

Chapter 1: When Ash Meet Pikachu

Our world is filled not just with humans, but also with animals. They all come in different kinds, such as mammals, bugs, reptiles, fishes and etc. I don't need to go deeper about it because everyone knows about that.

However, what some may not know is the existence of an alternate version of our planet in another dimension. The main difference about this planet is the fact all the animals there have pretty much been replaced by strange creatures known as Pokémon. What's a Pokémon you may ask? Well, if you've been following the various games, TV shows and mangas based on this concept, you already know what it's all about and can already skip to the next part of this chapter. For those who don't know, let me explain.

Pokémon are creatures who, for the most part, look just like fantasy-esque versions of well-known animals. I'm saying 'for the most part' because there are several Pokémon who look more like plants, rocks, ghosts, humans, and even inanimate object. There are even Pokémon who don't look like anything you've seen before. With that said, Pokémon are living in the wild. They all have incredible powers and a majority of them are even able to evolve into a more powerful version of themselves once they've done specifics requirements. A lot of people on this planet spend their time catching Pokémon so they can use them in battle.

Humans who capture Pokémon usually share a bond with them if they take great care of them. Some people have Pokémon as pets. Others use them as part of their profession. Pokémon Coordinators, Pokémon Breeders, etc. The most well-known Pokémon-related profession, however, is Pokémon Trainer. They go around the world, catching Pokémon, using them to fight Gym Leaders in order to earn enough badges to enter a Pokémon League. That way, they get a chance to become Pokémon Masters. They usually start their journey by choosing one out of three Pokémon from the Professor of the region. Those three Pokémon would always be ones that are either grass-type, fire-type, or water-type.

* * *

Our story begins in a place called Pallet Town. Set in the region of Kanto, it's a small town with a few houses and such. In one those houses, lived a ten year old boy. He had black hair, brown eyes, and lightning-shaped marks under his eyes. He was wearing a red and white hat with a green 'L' on it, a blue and white jacket with gold trims, a black shirt, blue jeans with a brown belt, black and white sneakers, and green fingerless gloves. His name is Ash Ketchum.

Ash has a huge passion for Pokémon. His dream is to become a Pokémon Master. He has waited a long time to be a Pokémon Trainer. Much to his joy, he will start his journey as a Pokémon Trainer the next day.

However, at the moment, the boy had no idea he would have to deal with something else.

"ASH! Come here!" a female voice was heard throughout the house.

The soon-to-be Pokémon Trainer stood up from his bed in his room where he was daydreaming when he heard the voice. Ash exited from his room and climbed down the stairs. He then arrived in the kitchen. Someone was there. It was a woman in her early thirties, with brown hair in a ponytail and brown eyes. She was wearing a pink shirt, a blue skirt, and brown shoes. Her name is Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother.

"What is it, mom?" Ash asked.

"There's a Pokémon eating the food!" she said while pointing at the dinner table. "Get me the net that's in the closet!"

The boy turned his eyes to the table and noticed the Pokémon on the table. It was a yellow-furred mouse, with black eyes and pointy ears. Those ears were half black. The mouse also had red pouches on his cheeks, a lightning bolt-shaped tail and brown stripes on his back. His name is Pikachu, an electric-type Pokémon.

At this moment, Pikachu was eating an apple. He turned around to look at Ash. The latter smirked as he thought of something.

"No need for a net, mom. I'll trap him!" the boy exclaimed as he leapt towards the Pokémon.

The latter immediately jumped in the air and landed on Ash's head, causing the latter to trip and fall on his face. Pikachu then ran out of the kitchen. The boy stood up, groaning at what just happened.

"Ash! What are you doing!? I told you to get the net!" Delia exclaimed.

"I'm sure I can get him without any net, mom. Just watch!"

Ash ran towards where Pikachu went. The latter ran until he arrived in front of the entrance door, which was in front of the living room. The electric-type Pokémon sighed when he realized he can't open the door at once. He then turned around and noticed Ash, standing in the living room with a determined face.

"Gotcha!" Ash said.

Frowning at the boy, Pikachu ran towards him and jumped in his arms. Ash smirked at that.

"Huh. That was easy."

"Pika... CHUUUUU!" the electric-type Pokémon exclaimed as he unleashed electricity from his body, electrocuting the boy.

Ash yelled in pain from the electricity. Pikachu then stopped and jumped down from his arms before running towards an opened window he just noticed and exiting through it. Ash fell on his side, coughing at once. His mother quickly came nearby and kneeled down.

"Oh, my gosh! Are you alright?" Delia asked, concerned.

Gritting his teeth, Ash stood up, with more determination showing on his face.

"I'm fine, mom. I'm not done with that Pokémon, though!" he exclaimed before he exited the house through the entrance door.

"Ash, wait!" Delia yelled at him, too late. She sighed, slightly exasperated. "Why can't he just get the net?"

Outside, Pikachu was resting against the mailbox, sighing in relief from being able to escape the boy. Speaking of which, the latter appeared from the door and immediately spotted the electric-type Pokémon.

"There you are!" Ash exclaimed as he ran towards him.

"Pika!" Pikachu yelped before running away.

The boy kept running around after the Pokémon, even going as far as the edge of Pallet Town. Once he reached that place, Ash suddenly realized he lost track of Pikachu.

"Oh, darn it!" he said with frustration. "Where is he?"

"Ash?"

The boy turned around when he heard someone calling his name. That someone was familiar to Ash. It was an old man with grey hair and black eyes. He was wearing a red shirt, a white lab coat, brown pants, and dark brown shoes. His name is Samuel Oak, more often known as Professor Oak. At this moment, he was carrying a net.

"What are you doing here?" Oak asked.

"I've been chasing after a wild Pikachu who had come eating food at my house, Professor." Ash replied.

"A Pikachu, you say?" Oak asked, intrigued.

"Yeah. Why asking?"

"Well, I've been doing some researches on a Pikachu I've recently captured. However, he escaped my laboratory about an hour ago when I had turned my back and I've been trying to get him back. It must be the same Pikachu that went into your house." The old man replied.

"I see. Well, I'd be honored to help you with that..."

"Pikaaaaaaa..."

"Watch out!" Oak yelled of sudden, while pushing Ash away.

Pikachu had leapt in the air in order to attack Ash. Oak immediately swung his net at the electric-type Pokémon, trapping him. Pikachu was now stuck inside the net.

"Whoa..." Ash said, sitting on the ground after Oak pushed him out of the way.

"I finally got you, Pikachu." The professor said, smirking at the electric-type Pokémon. "Now, back inside your Poké Ball."

The old man took a small red and white ball and made it grow to normal size. Pikachu looked afraid at the sight of the Poké Ball. Before it could protest, the Pokémon was turned into red light and disappeared inside the device. Oak then shrunk down the Poké Ball and put it in his pocket. The professor then extended his hand to help Ash standing up.

"Are you alright? No bruises or anything?" Oak asked.

"No. Well, aside from when that Pikachu electrocuted me at my house. But I'm fine, to be honest." Ash replied.

"Good. By the way, when you have a wild Pokémon invading your house, use a net."

"Yeah... I'll keep that in mind..." Ash said, looking down in embarrassment when he remembered that's what his mom told him to do.

"Now, we should go back home. Tomorrow is the day you'll start your journey as a Pokémon Trainer."

"Oh, yeah! I can't wait for tomorrow already!" the boy exclaimed, holding his fists up to his face in excitement.

Oak smiled at that. He liked the boy's enthusiasm for Pokémon.

"Don't sleep too late. After all, you aren't the only one getting a Pokémon tomorrow. First-come, first-serve."

"Don't worry about it, Professor! I'll be first in line tomorrow!" Ash exclaimed excitedly before running away back home.

"Kids... They have so much enthusiasm for their passions." Oak commented to himself before heading back to his laboratory.

* * *

Several hours later, Ash was in his room, watching television. At this moment, he was watching a Pokémon fight from the Pokémon League. One of the Pokémon fighting on screen was a ghost-like dark purple creature with a sinister grin, a pointy tail, and red eyes. That was a Gengar. The Pokémon's opponent was a purple Pokémon with large ears that were colored in blue on the inside. It also had red eyes, spines on the back, a horn on the forehead, and large front teeth. It was a Nidorino. Ash was excited to watch this fight.

"Yeah! That's just so awesome!" the boy exclaimed.

He then heard someone knocking at the door.

"Ash! Don't sleep too late tonight! You need to wake up early tomorrow for your journey to start." His mom said on the other side of the door.

"Don't worry about it, mom. I won't sleep too late." The boy replied.

"Alright then. Good night, honey."

"Good night, mom." He then looked back on the TV, grinning. "I still can't believe it's tomorrow..."

Later that night, Ash was sleeping in his bed. The boy was dreaming peacefully.

"Which one... should I choose?" he said in his sleep. "Charmander is pretty cool... especially as a Charizard... Squirtle looks like a good choice... A water-type may be useful... Bulbasaur has great attacks... I like the razor blades... Though choice..." he said before bumping his head into a drawer. This caused an alarm clock shaped like a Poké Ball to roll down until it fell on the ground, breaking itself...

* * *

The next morning, the sun was shining brightly. After a while, Ash gradually opened his eyes. He sat up and yawned while stretching his arms.

"A good way to start a day..." the boy said before stepping on the floor.

All of sudden, he felt something under his foot. Curious, he looked down and noticed the broken alarm clock on the ground. His eyes went wide in shock as he realized that this meant.

"No! No! No! Don't tell me I'm late!" he exclaimed in panic before rushing to change his clothes.

Less than a minute later, he had changed his pajama clothes for his regular ones and exited his room at once. As soon as he exited his house, Ash ran as fast as he could towards Professor Oak's laboratory.

"Please! There must be one Pokémon for me!"

The boy kept running without ever stopping, as if like it was a matter of life and death. After a while, Ash finally arrived next in front of the entrance door to Professor Oak's lab. The boy put his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

"Ah, there you are, Ash." The boy looked up and noticed Oak appearing from the door. "I was wondering when you would arrive."

"Professor! I have to get my Starter Pokémon now!" Ash exclaimed.

"Oh..." the old man said, looking concerned. "Well, the thing is..."

"Come on! I don't have time to waste! The sooner I get one, the sooner I can fulfill my dream of becoming a Pokémon Master!"

Oak looked at the young boy before sighing.

"Follow me..." he said as he motioned the boy to come inside.

Soon after, the two of them were surrounding a machine with three empty slots on it, which is where the three Poké Balls containing the three starters would be. However, Ash was puzzled at the sight of that.

"Wait a minute... Where's the Poké Balls?" he asked, causing the professor to sigh.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you a moment ago, Ash... You've come too late and as such all three starters already have been taken by kids of your age." Oak replied.

Hearing this, Ash felt like the whole world was shattered at once. He fell on a nearby chair, having a hard time believing he missed his chance.

"I can't believe it... I was so close to start the one thing I've always wanted to do... I'm a failure." The boy sadly said, looking down.

"Don't feel so bad, Ash." Oak said, feeling sorry for the boy. "You're not a failure just because you arrived too late, even though it did cost you a Pokémon. It's not the end of the world. I mean, you could always come back next year to get one of the starters this time."

"I know, but... Having to wait a whole year when I could just start it right away... If I start it next year, Gary will already have one year of experience and will probably mock me for how much behind I am..." he said, referring to Gary Oak, Oak's grandson and someone who often rivaled Ash when it came to Pokémon. "I bet he got the coolest of the starters too."

"Actually, I don't know which starter is the 'coolest', but I can assure you my grandson didn't get one of the three starters." The professor said.

"Huh?" Ash said, looking up.

"I know how much potential Gary has to become one of the greatest Pokémon Trainers, so I decided to give him an Eevee."

"An Eevee?"

"Yes, it's that one Pokémon who can turn into either a water-type, an electric-type or a fire-type Pokémon, depending on which stone its trainer decides to use." The old man explained. "I've heard it can also turn into another type with other rocks, but none of them are available in Kanto, so far."

"Oh. That's a pretty cool Pokémon to have." Ash said before looking down. "At least he's got one Pokémon, while I don't have any and probably won't have any for a while..." he said, still sad and disappointed of his missed opportunity.

Oak couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy who wanted to achieve his dream. The old man saw a clear enthusiasm for Pokémon coming from the boy. It would be a shame if he had to wait a whole year before he could get started. Suddenly, the professor thought about something.

"Although..." he said, rubbing his chin in thought.

"What?" Ash asked, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"I may have one more Pokémon I could give you."

"Huh!?" Ash said as he immediately looked up at the old man.

"There's one Pokémon I have I was studying in the last few days. I'm actually done studying him as I've got all the information I need. I was about to release it in the wild, where it belongs..."

"I'll take it, Professor!" Ash exclaimed at once as he stood up. "I'm ready to have that Pokémon!"

"Oh, alright then. Just wait here as I'll go get it." Oak said before looking at a bunch of Poké Balls on a shelf. He checked the shelf carefully until he found the Poké Ball he was looking for. "Ah! There it is."

He picked the Poké Ball and walked back to where Ash was. Oak put the Poké Ball inside the boy's hand.

"Wow... My first Pokémon..." Ash said, his eyes wide in excitement. "I can't wait to see who's that Pokémon!"

The boy opened the Poké Ball, causing a bright light to appear from it and land on a nearby table. Soon enough, the light turned into some creature. Then, Ash was surprised when he recognized the creature.

"Wait... A Pikachu! Is that...?"

"Yes, my boy. It's the same one you've been chasing yesterday." Oak replied.

The yellow-furred Pokémon opened his eyes, looking at both humans.

"Pikachu." The rodent said.

Ash couldn't help but feel how ironic it was to have his first Pokémon be the one he's had a hard time chasing around less than 24 hours ago. Still, the boy smiled as he waved at the electric-type Pokémon.

"Hey there, Pikachu. I'm Ash Ketchum, your new trainer. I have the feeling we're gonna make a great team together."

However, the electric-type glared at the boy, recognizing him without much trouble. Ash grabbed Pikachu and hugged him in his arms.

"We're gonna be best friends before the end of the day. I'm sure of it." The boy said while hugging him.

"Pi...ka... CHUUUUUUU!"

The Pokémon unleashed his electricity, electrocuting the boy. The latter yelled in great pain. After several seconds of great shock, Pikachu stopped electrocuting him. Ash coughed from all that shock he received.

"He recognizes me... Good. That's... just good." He said in a weak tone.

"I have a Pokédex for you, Ash. And here are a few Poké Balls. You can always buy more Poké Balls in stores that are specialized with them." The old man said as he gave a few Poké Balls to Ash, as well as a rectangular-shaped red electronic device with a blue orb on the upper-left corner known as a Pokédex.

* * *

A few minutes later, Ash, Oak and Pikachu arrived outside of the laboratory. There, they came across a crowd, all cheering for the boy. Some of them were carrying signs that said 'Go, Ash! Go!', while others were raising their fists in the air or clapping with their hands. Ash smiled at the sight of that. He then noticed Delia, holding a green backpack in her hands.

"I can't believe it. My baby is already old enough to start his journey. Time has gone so fast..." she said, almost about to make tears of joy. "I'm so proud of you, Ash..." she added, smiling.

"Don't be so proud of me yet, mom. I've still got to catch Pokémon, win badges and win the Indigo League." Ash said.

"I know... It's just... Well, I'm gonna miss you." Delia said before hugging her son.

"I'm gonna miss you too, mom." He said, hugging back.

"Anyway, here's your backpack." She said as they stopped hugging each other. "I've put everything you need: shirts, pants, socks, a bottle of water, money to buy you something to eat, and a few other things. Don't sleep too late, eat healthy... Oh! And don't forget to change your underwear every day!"

"Mom!" Ash exclaimed in embarrassment as he took the backpack away from her. "Don't mention my underwear in front of others..."

"Oh..." Delia said as she noticed Pikachu standing next to Ash. "Your first Pokémon is a Pikachu? Is... Is that the same one from yesterday?"

"Yeah. Talk about irony." Ash said while scratching the back of his head.

"It's quite strange of a coincidence, but I guess it doesn't really matter. Although, why he isn't in his Poké Ball?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot to put him back there." The boy said as he grabbed his Poké Ball. "Pikachu, come back!"

Ash threw the ball at the rodent. Suddenly, Pikachu threw it back with his tail. Catching the ball back, the boy was surprised by that. He threw it at the Pokémon again, but the latter used his head to throw it back again. Ash started to frown. For a moment, they threw the ball back and forth at each other rapidly. The boy stopped doing that soon after, catching his breath. Tired of that, Ash grabbed Pikachu and lifted him up.

"What's your problem!?" he asked in confusion. "I'm not here to play volleyball with you!"

"Pi...ka..." the Pokémon said as sparks appeared from his pouches.

"Uh-oh." Ash gulped, knowing what was going to happen.

"CHUUUUUUU!"

Not only was Ash being electrocuted, but so was the crowd, including his mother. Oak, however, immediately jumped into a nearby bush to avoid receiving the electricity. Several seconds later, Pikachu stopped electrocuting the people around him. With the exception of Oak, everyone fell on their back, exhausted from such an attack. The professor reappeared from the bush and came near Ash.

"One piece of advice for you: bring rubber gloves. They're 100% useful against electricity." The old man said.

"I'll keep that in mind... Thanks." Ash said, in a tired tone.

* * *

End of chapter.

I think it's a good place to end this chapter. Next chapter will have Ash and Pikachu start their journey.

To anyone disappointed about Gary not being present in this chapter, don't worry about it. He'll appear soon enough. Also, to anyone who thinks this first chapter is average at best, I'm fully aware of that. It's the best I could come up with. I'll try to make the upcoming chapters much better, though.

The part with Pikachu in the Ketchum's house is loosely inspired by the first chapter of "The Electric Tale of Pikachu".

Read and review!


	2. Leaving Pallet Town

So, I got about 6 people who put this fanfic in their favs and/or story alert. And yet, only one of them left a review. Okay. I can say this is the first time it happened to me while posting a first chapter. Well, if it's not too much asking, I'd like to see you guys review my chapters. Tell me what you like and hate about my fanfic. I'm simply curious to know what you guys think of it. Again, if it's not too much asking. I don't want to force you or anything.

Anyway, here's the next chapter.

Chapter 2: Leaving Pallet Town

Several minutes later, Ash was out of Pallet Town, going through the forest. At this moment, he was wearing a pair of rubber gloves. The boy was also pulling a rope, which was tied on Pikachu's waist. The Pokémon was still reluctant to follow the new trainer. After a while of pulling on the rope, Ash had enough of this. He stopped walking and turned around, kneeling down to talk to the rodent.

"Pikachu, what's wrong? Why are you so reluctant? Is it because you don't like me?" Ash asked.

"Pikachu." The Pokémon nodded.

"Well, I like you. I mean, we started this whole thing in a bad way, but I want both of us to work well together. Why don't you listen to me? I mean, for starters, why don't you want to go back into your Poké Ball? All the other Pokémon do that."

"Pika."

"Aw, man..." the trainer sighed. "If only I could understand you."

Suddenly, the boy heard something. He turned around and noticed a red convertible car coming. The car stopped right next to the boy, who then stood up. The driver jumped from his seat and landed right next to the trainer. Ash recognized the driver. It was a boy, also ten-years old, although he looked a bit more mature than Ash. He had brown spiky hair, green eyes, a purple long-sleeved shirt, a yellow and green medal around his neck, blue pants, and brown and black boots. His name is Gary Oak, Ash's rival.

"Well, well! Look who it is! None other than ol' Ash Ketchum. And I'm saying ol' because you'll be an old man by the time you finish the Indigo League. That is, IF you ever finish it." Gary said, smirking.

"Hi, Gary." Ash said, gritting his teeth at seeing his rival and hearing what he just said.

"So, what are you doing here? Grandpa told me all the starters were already given to others."

"Well, he decided to give me one who isn't a starter, but will no doubt make me a winner." Ash proudly said.

"Which Pokémon? That Pikachu?" Gary asked while pointing at the rodent. "Please! You wouldn't even be able to beat a Gym Leader with that Pokémon." He said, earning a glare from Pikachu. "I, on the other hand, will have an easy time beating all the Gym Leaders around." He said while standing proudly.

At this moment, Ash suddenly noticed a group of cheerleaders sitting on the backseats of the car.

"Gary! Gary! He's the best! He'll put everyone to rest!" the cheerleaders exclaimed at once, like any cheerleader would.

"Wait, you have your own cheerleaders?!" the new trainer asked in disbelief.

"Of course, I do. I'm Gary Oak after all." Gary replied, with that same smirk of his.

"Ugh..." Ash groaned at his rival's attitude.

"How about a little fight, Ketchum? My Eevee vs. your Pikachu."

The new trainer smirked as his face was suddenly filled with determination.

"Let's do this, Gary!" Ash exclaimed while raising his fist to his face.

"Alright, then. Eevee, go!" Gary exclaimed while throwing a Poké Ball.

A few seconds later, a Pokémon appeared from the Poké Ball. It was a brown-furred creature, standing on all four paws. It had long pointed ears, brown eyes, a cream-colored furry collar, and a tail with a cream-colored tip. It was Eevee.

"Eevee!" the brown-furred creature said.

Ash grabbed his Pokédex and used it to scan Eevee.

"Eevee. Normal-type Pokémon. It can evolve into one out of several types of Pokémon." The Pokédex said, in a male-sounding voice.

"Great! Pikachu, get ready to fight!" Ash ordered his Pokémon.

However, Pikachu turned his head away, as if snubbing him. The boy was shocked to see that.

"Ha! Your Pokémon doesn't even obey you. That's pathetic!" Gary exclaimed in amusement.

"Come on, Pikachu! You gotta fight!" the new trainer exclaimed.

"Pikachu." The Pokémon said, still snubbing him.

Ash was worried. His only Pokémon didn't want to fight, and the boy didn't want to miss this opportunity to fight Gary. Suddenly, he got an idea as he smirked.

"Oh, I get it, Pikachu. You don't think you'll be able to beat Eevee, so you act like a coward."

"Pi!" Pikachu gasped. The rodent then turned to face Eevee and took a fighting stance. "Pikachu!"

Ash grinned at the fact he managed to convince him to fight. The boy then removed the rope tied around Pikachu's waist and also removed the rubber gloves from his hands.

"Whenever you're ready, Gary."

"I am since the last two minutes. Eevee, use Tackle!" Gary ordered his Pokémon.

"Eevee!" Eevee nodded.

The brown-furred Pokémon ran towards Pikachu and tackled him, hitting his opponent.

"Pikachu, use Thundershock!" Ash ordered.

"Pika!"

The electric-type Pokémon used Growl instead, which decreased his opponent's attack. This confused the rodent's trainer.

"Huh!? What are you doing, Pikachu? I said Thundershock!"

"Ah! Either he mixed up his attacks or he doesn't even listen to you." Gary said. "What a poor trainer you are!"

"Don't call me a poor trainer!" Ash exclaimed.

"Whatever. Eevee, use Tackle again!"

Listening to his trainer, Eevee tackled his opponent again.

"Okay, Pikachu." Ash said. "Use Thun..."

"Pika-chuuuuu!" the electric-type Pokémon exclaimed as he used Thundershock to electrocute Eevee. However, the normal-type Pokémon dodged the attack, making Pikachu missing his target.

"Hey! You could at least let me finish what I'm saying!" the young trainer complained, not even realizing Pikachu was ignoring him and doing whatever he wanted to do.

"Eevee, use Tail Whip!" Gary ordered.

"Eevee!"

The normal-type Pokémon whipped the electric-type Pokémon with his tail, decreasing the rodent's defense.

"Use Growl, Pikachu!" Ash ordered.

"Pika-chuuuuu!" the rodent exclaimed once again, using Thundershock on Eevee. The latter got hit, for once.

"No, Pikachu! You're supposed to... Oh, wait. You actually hit him. Well... Okay then." The young trainer shrugged.

"Use Tackle again, Eevee!" Gary ordered again.

The normal-type Pokémon tackled Pikachu again. This time, however, the electric-type Pokémon fell on his back, too tired to fight.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed as he ran up to where his Pokémon was.

"Ah! I knew you wouldn't stand a chance against me, Ketchum!" Gary proudly exclaimed. "Good work, Eevee. You deserve some rest."

"Eevee!" the normal-type Pokémon nodded, smiling.

A few seconds later, Eevee went back inside his Poké Ball.

"Smell ya later, Ash!" Gary exclaimed before going back inside his car.

"No one stands a chance against Gary! He's better than you and me!" his cheerleaders exclaimed at once.

Ash's rival drove away, on his way to become a Pokémon Master. While holding Pikachu in his arms, Ash gritted his teeth as he watched Gary leaving.

"Wait... How did he get his own car?" he wondered out loud. The young trainer then turned his attention to the defeated Pokémon in his arms. "Pikachu, are you alright?"  
"Pika..." the electric-type Pokémon slowly opened his eyes.

He then glared at the trainer before jumping out of his arms and running up until he arrived next to a nearby tree.

"Are you upset because we lost the fight? Well, maybe if you had listened to my orders, it wouldn't have happened!" Ash complained in annoyance.

"Pi." The yellow rodent turned his head away, once again snubbing the boy.

"We need to work together, or else I won't capture other Pokémon or win battles."

Pikachu didn't answer, still turning his head away. Ash frowned at the Pokémon as he started to lose patience.

"You know what? Fine! You don't want to work with me? That's perfectly alright! I can become a Pokémon Master without your help!" he snapped before turning away.

Ash looked around, trying to find some Pokémon he could capture. All of sudden, he noticed one on the ground. It was a Bird Pokémon with brown feathers covering its head. It also had a hooked beak, wings with red feathers, a black-colored back, an underside with two stripes on it, and three brown tail feathers. The boy smirked at the sight of the Bird Pokémon.

"Good..."

He grabbed his Pokédex once again, using it to scan the Bird Pokémon.

"Spearow. Normal and flying-type Pokémon. It is able to fly around fast enough to protect its colony." The Pokédex said.

"Okay. I gotta find a way to weaken that Pokémon." Ash said to himself.

He looked around and noticed a rock on the ground. He grabbed the rock and threw it at the Spearow, hitting him in the head as it yelled in pain.

"Ah! Got it!" Ash exclaimed.

Suddenly, the Spearow turned its head around and glared at Ash. The young trainer didn't like the way that Pokémon was looking at him. A few seconds later, the Spearow was flying in the air, going fast towards the boy.

"Poké Ball, go!"

Ash threw a Poké Ball at Spearow. However, the Spearow used its wing to throw the ball back at the boy. The latter yelped in alarm as he received the Poké Ball in his face. He removed the Poké Ball from it before ducking the bird flying at him. Seeing that, Pikachu couldn't help but laugh at the trainer's misfortune. All of sudden, the Spearow noticed the rodent laughing. Thinking it might be laughing at him, the flying-type Pokémon headed towards the electric-type Pokémon. Pikachu yelped in alarm when he noticed the Spearow coming towards him.

"Pika-chuuuuuuuuuuu!" the Pokémon yelled as he used Thundershock on Spearow.

The latter yelled in pain before falling on the ground.

"Good job, Pikachu!" Ash cheered in excitement.

Just before the boy could throw another Poké Ball, the Spearow went back in the air and flied above the tree.

"SPEAROW!"

The flying-type Pokémon's scream alerted several other Spearows. They all responded by joining the one who screamed. The latter then pointed at the boy and the rodent. They all nodded before flying towards the trainer and his Pokémon. The two of them panicked at their sight.

"Run, Pikachu!" the trainer yelled.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded in agreement.

* * *

Soon after, Ash and Pikachu ran away as fast as possible, trying to escape the Spearows.

"This isn't how I expected this journey to start!" Ash yelled while running.

"Pikachu!"

The two of them kept running away. Unfortunately, the Spearows eventually managed to reach them and started to attack by pecking them.

"Ow! Ouch! Enough! Ow!" Ash exclaimed in pain as he received the pecks.

"Pika!"

The trainer looked to where Pikachu was and noticed him getting several pecks from the Spearows at once.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Ash yelled furiously as he ran up to where Pikachu was.

The trainer grabbed the electric-type Pokémon and ran as fast he could to escape the flying-type Pokémon. Pikachu wasn't in good shape. The fight with Eevee, along with the Spearows attacking him, weakened him severely. The young trainer continued to run until he reached the edge of a waterfall. He stopped right there, preventing himself from falling into said waterfall. Knowing the Spearows were getting closer, he had no choice.

"Hang on, Pikachu. I'll get us out of here!" the boy exclaimed.

"Pika..." the electric-type Pokémon said, weakly.

Ash jumped into the water, getting himself dragged into the river. After several minutes of being dragged by the river, the trainer noticed a nearby tree branch and held onto it. He used it to go back on the shore. Ash panted heavily, getting tired of all this. He then heard the Spearows coming. Without wasting time, the young trainer continued running. It was at this moment it started to rain.

After a while of running, Ash suddenly tripped and fell on his stomach. Pikachu fell of his arms and landed on his back. The boy struggled as he tried to sit. He noticed Pikachu lying on the ground. The electric-type Pokémon wasn't feeling any better.

"Pikachu..." Ash said, worried about his Pokémon.

Once again, the boy heard the Spearows coming. The trainer had to think of something to do and quick. He then got an idea. Ash picked Pikachu's Poké Ball and put it next to the electric-type Pokémon.

"Go inside your Poké Ball, Pikachu."

"Pi-pika." Pikachu said, shaking his head.

"I know you hate being inside a Poké Ball. However, if you stay in your ball, the Spearows won't be able to attack you anymore. I'll distract them so that you can have time to go inside it." Ash said before standing up.

He looked at the Spearows getting closer to them. With determination on his face, Ash spread out his arms, getting ready to deal with them.

"Go ahead, Spearows! Attack me all you want! Hurt me if you want! I don't care! I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town! I'm gonna become a Pokémon Master and it's not a flock of Pokémon like you that will stop me from becoming one! But if you mess with Pikachu, I'll make sure you're gonna pay for it!" the boy yelled at the flying-type Pokémon.

Pikachu looked at Ash in amazement. He heard what the trainer just said and couldn't believe he was willing to go that far just to protect him. Despite everything that happened to them since they first met, the trainer wasn't going to abandon him.

"Come on, Spearows! Try to hit me if you want it so much!" Ash yelled some more.

One moment later, he suddenly felt something landing on his shoulder and then jumping high in the air. Ash recognized that something as Pikachu. The trainer looked as he had no idea what the electric-type Pokémon was trying to do.

"Pi...ka...CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

The rodent used his most powerful Thundershock at the Spearows. The flying-type Pokémon were all yelling in pain for several seconds. After a while, they all fell down to the ground. A while later, Ash slowly opened his eyes as he realized he was lying on the ground. He sat up and noticed Pikachu lying next to him. The electric-type Pokémon was still looking injured. Ash turned his head towards the flock of Spearows, who were all unconscious. He could capture one of them with a Poké Ball. The trainer then looked back at the rodent. Unfortunately, Pikachu needed to be healed as soon as possible. Ash had to make a choice between capturing a new Pokémon or taking care of the one he already had.

Wasting no time, the trainer grabbed Pikachu and ran as fast as he could to the nearest town...

* * *

It was getting close to nighttime as Ash arrived in Viridian City. At the entrance of the town, there was a police station with some woman talking on a microphone. She had greenish blue hair, brown eyes, a blue police hat, a blue police uniform with red rims, a blue skirt, white gloves, and black shoes.

"Attention, everyone!" The policewoman said in the microphone. "If you ever come across an agent of Team Rocket, please report to the nearest police station. If you have any suspicions, please report as well."

She was interrupted as she noticed Ash arriving in Viridian City, running while carrying Pikachu in his arms. Just as Ash ran past her, she immediately grabbed him by the shoulder, making the boy yelped in alarm.

"Hold on a minute!" the policewoman exclaimed. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Huh!? Let me go, officer!" Ash exclaimed. "My Pikachu is injured and I need to go to the nearest Pokémon Center!"

"Oh..." she said as she noticed how injured the Pokémon was. "That poor Pikachu... But what tells me you're not a member of Team Rocket?"

"Team Rocket?" Ash asked, arching an eyebrow in confusion. "Never heard of it."

"It's an organization that specializes in stealing Pokémon."

The policewoman pointed to a wanted sign. On it, there was a picture of two people. It looked blurry, so Ash couldn't see what the people on the picture looked like. At most, he could only identify one of them as being a woman with long hair and the other being a man with shorter hair. He also noticed they both had one big 'R' on their shirt.

"Well, I'm not part of Team Rocket. I'm Ash Ketchum. I come from Pallet Town and I just became a Pokémon Trainer."

"Hmm... Do you have a Pokédex?" the policewoman asked.

"Hum, yeah, I do." Ash said as he grabbed his Pokédex from his pocket.

The policewoman snatched his Pokédex away and took a look at it.

"Let's see here..."

She pressed a button on it. A picture of Ash then appeared on the screen.

"This Pokédex belongs to Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. It has been given to him by Professor Samuel Oak." The Pokédex said.

"Huh. I didn't know it could serve as an ID." The boy said.

"Well, it proves you're a Pokémon Trainer and not someone working for Team Rocket. Sorry for thinking you were one." She looked back at Pikachu before smiling at the boy. "I'll get you to the Pokémon Center right now, or else I ain't Officer Jenny!"

Less than a minute later, the policewoman was sitting on a motorcycle, with Ash sitting inside its sidecar. Officer Jenny then stepped on the gas, driving away from the police station and going towards the Pokémon Center. Soon enough, they saw a large hospital, with a large Poké Ball on the roof. Jenny stopped the motorcycle right next to the entrance door.

"Thanks for the lift, Officer Jenny!" Ash said as he got out of the sidecar and ran towards the entrance.

"My pleasure." She replied with a smile before driving away.

The boy entered the Pokémon Center and arrived next to a counter. Behind that counter was a pink-haired woman wearing a white and pink nurse outfit.

"Nurse! My Pikachu needs help!" Ash exclaimed.

"This is a Pokémon Center. You shouldn't talk loudly like that." The nurse said, frowning at him.

"Oops. Sorry. But I'm worried about Pikachu." Ash said as he sadly looked at his Pokémon.

The nurse grabbed the Pokémon from the boy's arms and looked at it.

"Oh, my. He's not in good shape." She said, worried. "Chansey, come here."

"Chansey!"

A pink-skinned Pokémon shaped like an egg appeared. It had stubby arms and legs, hair-like outgrowths, a tail and a pouch with an egg inside of it. Chansey was smiling as she arrived next to the nurse.

"We have an injured Pikachu. Bring him in the emergency room."

"Chansey!" she nodded before grabbing Pikachu and did what the nurse told her to do.

The pink-haired woman noticed how sad Ash was as he looked at the door leading to the room Chansey went with Pikachu. He seemed upset and nervous about his Pokémon.

"Don't worry. Everything will be alright." She said with a smile before entering the room.

Ash just stood there, thinking about the well-being of his only Pokémon.

"Pikachu..." he said to himself.

The young trainer looked to his left and noticed several telephones with screen. He thought it might be time to call someone...

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the Ketchums' house, Delia was finishing pouring water on some plants. All of sudden, she heard the phone ringing. The woman sat next to the phone and answered it.

"Hello?" She then gasped in joy when she noticed her son on the screen. "Ash! I'm so glad to see you, honey! Where are you now?"

"I'm at the Pokémon Center in Viridian City, mom." Ash replied.

"Viridian City? You're already there? That's great, Ash! It took your father a couple more days before he reached that town. He's gonna be so proud of you when he'll learn about it."

"Uh. Well, yeah. I guess dad will be proud." The boy said, thinking about his father.

Ash's father, Jack Ketchum, was also a Pokémon Trainer. He started his journey when he was about Ash's age and he continued to catch and train Pokémon even to this day. He was currently traveling in some other region than Kanto. Ash forgot which one it was. He wasn't sure if it was Johto or Hoenn. Still, the boy was waiting for the day his father would return and tell him about his adventures in whichever region he went.

"So, how's it going? Has my little Pokémon Trainer captured any Pokémon?" Delia asked.

"No, I had a... little problem earlier. I'm hoping to capture some Pokémon tomorrow, though." Her son replied.

"Listen, Ash. Even if you don't capture any Pokémon tomorrow, don't lose hope. Your father has been through some obstacles as well, but he never gave up. Always remember that."

"Well... Thanks for saying that, mom."

"No problem. Got anything else to say?"

"No. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay then. Bye, Ash!"

"Bye, mom."

They hung up the phone. Ash then sighed as he stayed there, still worried about Pikachu. He spent only one day so far as a Pokémon Trainer, and yet he hadn't done much other than having his only Pokémon getting injured. What his mom just said did give him some motivation to continue. But even then, he still had some doubts he'll be able to continue anyway.

All of sudden, before he could continue thinking about it, Ash heard a sound coming from the emergency room. A few seconds later, the nurse appeared from it, carrying Pikachu in her arms. Ash ran back to the counter.

"Is Pikachu alright?" the boy asked, nervous.

"Judge it for yourself." The nurse said, smiling.

"Pikachu!" the electric-type Pokémon exclaimed as he jumped onto Ash's arms and started hugging him.

The boy laughed with joy as he hugged his Pokémon.

"Oh, man! I'm so glad to see you in good health, Pikachu!"

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu said as he rubbed his head against the young trainer's chin.

Ash smiled at him before looking at the nurse.

"Thank you... Hum... I don't know your name." He said, sheepishly.

"I'm Nurse Joy, young man." She said.

"Right. Thank you, Nurse Joy." Ash said, grateful.

"It was my pleasure. If you have any other Pokémon who needs to heal, do not hesitate to go to the nearest Pokémon Center."

"I won't forget it. Come on, Pikachu. We have to continue our journey."

"Pikachu." The electric-type Pokémon nodded in agreement.

"Wait a minute." Joy said, right before Ash could even move away from the counter. "You should rest for a while."

"Rest? Why?" Ash asked.

"For several reasons. 1. Looking at your clothes, I can tell you've been through something rough today."

Ash noticed how wet from the rain and unclean his clothes were. The Spearows did quite a lot of damage on him and his Pokémon earlier that day.

"2. It's nighttime, now. Everyone should sleep when it's nighttime. 3. If you're a Pokémon Trainer, you must be looking for the Viridian Gym. Unfortunately, gyms usually close down during nighttime as even Gym Leaders need to sleep. I suggest you rent one of the rooms in this Pokémon Center."

"I didn't know Pokémon Center had rooms for people to sleep." The young trainer said.

"We do, but it's only for Pokémon Trainers." The nurse said.

"Well... Okay then. I'll take one room here." Ash said.

"Very well." She said, smiling.

* * *

End of chapter.

Ash and Pikachu seemed to have put aside their differences. Next chapter will see the duo looking for the Viridian Gym.

Before anyone asks, I haven't forgotten about Misty. She will appear, but I won't say anything else or else I would spoil this fanfic's upcoming chapters.

Honestly, I didn't expect to have so much fun writing Gary's lines in this chapter, but I ended up having fun anyway.

I decided to include the part where Ash met Officer Jenny in the second episode for one reason in particular. The second episode was actually the very first episode I've seen of the Pokémon TV show (I missed the first episode when it first aired where I live). After the opening credits and the recap of the first episode, the part where Ash met Officer Jenny was, as such, the first scene I've seen of Pokémon. For nostalgic values, that's why I decided to include it here.

Ash's father has, as of this writing, never been seen at all in the TV show. So, much like several other fanfic writers, I decided to make my own version of what I think Ash's father is supposed to be.

Read and review!


	3. Gotta Catch 'Em All!

Hum... Well, Phillip Clark, the last time I played "Pokémon Yellow", Gary/Blue/Green/Whatever beat me with his Eevee at the beginning of the game. But later, when his Eevee evolved, it became a Vaporeon. Hmm... I should probably look up Bulbapedia to learn more about the way Eevee evolves in "Pokémon Yellow".

Thanks for reviewing the previous chapter, zorro2. I'll try all my best to make it as less generic as possible. To answer your questions... Well, Ash still has the same personality as in canon, but he will have character development throughout the journey. We'll see how it goes. As for him catching other Pokémon than the ones he already got in the show... Well, if I answered this question, I'd spoil the fanfic. I won't say anything else other than you'll get the answer to that question soon enough.

Chapter 3: Gotta Catch 'Em All!

Less than an hour later, Ash and Pikachu were inside some room they took from the Pokémon Center. It looked just like any room from a hotel, just not as expensive-looking. At this moment, the boy was sitting on the side of the bed, looking through the window. Ash changed into cleaner clothes, with his dirty ones being in the laundry. He stared at the sky filled with stars, lost in his thoughts. The boy had been through a lot that day.

He kept thinking about everything that happened to him since he woke up in the morning. Ash knew being a Pokémon Trainer meant a lot of hard work, but he was starting to have some doubts. His first day as a Pokémon Trainer seemed to have been filled with nothing but trouble. As such, the boy from Pallet Town couldn't help but think for a long while about these recent events and nothing else.

"Pika?"

Ash looked to his right and noticed Pikachu getting onto the bed and coming next to him. The electric-type Pokémon looked at his trainer.

"You're wondering why I'm not sleeping, right?" the trainer asked.

"Pika." He nodded.

"Well... It's just that we've been through a lot today. I mean, it all started with you being reluctant to go with me, then there was the fight with Gary which we lost, followed by the Spearows attacking us and you getting injured. Then, it was a race against time to go to the nearest Pokémon Center. I just... I just wonder if being a Pokémon Trainer is the right thing for me." The boy said, looking down.

"Pikachu." The electric-type Pokémon said. "Pikachu pi, pika, pi-pikachu, chu, pikachu, Pika-Pi."

"Hum... I have no idea what you just said." Ash said, with a sweatdrop.

"Chu." The rodent said, looking down in disappointment.

"Okay, let's try something." The boy said. "I'm gonna ask you 'yes or no' questions. You can do that?"

"Pika." Pikachu nodded.

"Okay then. Pikachu, do you think I should feel bad about what happened today?"

"Pika." Pikachu shook his head.

"Why? Is it because I just started, and so I'm bound to make mistakes?"

"Pika." He nodded.

"Should I continue my journey despite the fact the first day didn't go as well as I hoped?"

"Pika." He nodded.

"Do you think I have a chance to become a Pokémon Master?"

The rodent thought about it, hesitating for a bit before nodding.

"Do you want to continue this journey with me?"

"Pika!" he nodded enthusiastically.

Ash was confused to see the Pokémon looking so enthusiastic about it.

"Why? I thought you didn't like me. Why did you change your mind? Is it because I tried to protect you from those Spearows and brought you here?"

"Pika." He nodded.

"So... Does that mean you want to be my friend?"

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded enthusiastically before jumping onto him and rubbing his head against his chest.

Just like an hour before, Ash laughed with joy as this was happening.

"Pikachu... You and I... We're gonna be the very best, like no one ever was."

"Pika-Pi... Pikachu!"

"Let's get some sleep."

The boy put the Pokémon on the bed before going to the window to close the curtains. Before he could close them, Ash noticed something in the sky. Much to his amazement, it looked like a Bird Pokémon, covered with a golden aura.

"Whoa..." the trainer said.

"Pika..." Pikachu said in amazement as he looked at the window as well.

Quickly, Ash grabbed his Pokédex and used it to scan this mysterious Pokémon.

"Unidentified Pokémon. No data found." The Pokédex said.

"Huh!?" the boy exclaimed before looking back at the window. Much to his shock, the Pokémon had disappeared. "But... Where did it went!?"

He looked at Pikachu, who shrugged in confusion.

"Pika, Pikachu."

"Hmm... I think we're hallucinating. We should just sleep right now."

"Pikachu." The electric-type Pokémon nodded.

Ash went under the cover of the bed and laid his head on the pillow.

"Good night, Pikachu." He said.

"Pikachu, Pika-pi."

The rodent lied down at the end of the bed and closed his eyes. The two of them started to sleep...

* * *

The next morning, Ash and Pikachu woke up. They left their room, bid farewell to Nurse Joy and left the Pokémon Center. The trainer took a few minutes to buy a few potions of all kinds, and some Pokémon food at the local Poké Mart, just enough so he wouldn't have to go to another Pokémon Center until the next town. He also bought some food for human so he wouldn't be too hungry. Ash and Pikachu then headed towards the Viridian Gym.

After several minutes of walking, the two of them arrived next to a building with the word 'GYM' above the door. The building looked like it was inspired by Roman architecture, with pillars on each side of the door. There were also two staircases leading to the door, separated by a fountain. Ash went up the stairs, walked towards the door and tried to open it. However, it seemed to be stuck as he used all his strength to open that door.

"The gym is closed, boy."

The young trainer stopped trying to open the door as he turned around and noticed some old man standing nearby.

"What did you just said?" Ash asked.

"The gym is closed. Its leader is actually absent." The old man replied.

"Absent? When is he gonna come back?"

"Nobody knows. He could come back tomorrow, next week, or even next month."

"WHAT!? I can't wait an entire month just to have a Pokémon fight!" Ash exclaimed in disbelief.

"Well, if I were you, I'd just go to a few other towns, win badges there, and come back here. Anyway, bye, boy." The old man said before leaving.

After the old man left, the young trainer kicked a nearby soda can in frustration.

"I can't believe it! First town I visit and the gym isn't even opened!" he exclaimed.

"Pika..." Pikachu said, looking worried about Ash.

The boy then calmed down as he took a deep breath.

"Calm down, Ash." He said to himself. "Just follow the old man's advice and visit other towns. After all, there's no way the other gyms can all be closed at the same time. Yeah, try to be optimistic."

The young trainer looked down at Pikachu.

"Let's go to the next town, Pikachu."

"Pika." The rodent nodded.

The trainer and his Pokémon went down the stairs and headed towards the next route.

* * *

Ash and Pikachu were making their way through Route 2, heading towards Viridian Forest. All of sudden, the rodent's ears perked.

"Pika." He said, looking around curiously.

"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash asked as they stopped walking.

"Pikachu." the electric-type Pokémon said as he pointed towards the grass.

The trainer looked towards the grass and noticed a bush. At this moment, a Pokémon appeared from the bush, yawning. This Pokémon was walking on all four paws, had large ears, front teeth, and whiskers. It also had blue fur, purple dots on each side of its body, spines on its back, a horn, and red eyes.

"Sweet." Ash said, smiling as he took his Pokédex.

"Female Nidoran. Poison-type Pokémon. Her spines are dangerous due to the fact they can release poison. There are also a few differences between her and her male counterpart." The Pokédex said.

"Perfect. Let's see if she's gonna be my first captured Pokémon. You're ready, Pikachu?" he asked his Pokémon.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Alright. Pikachu, use Thundershock!"

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUU!"

The rodent electrocuted the female Nidoran. She was weakened by the attack. The female Pokémon shook her head before looking at Pikachu with determination. She charged at the electric-type Pokémon, scratching with her claws. Pikachu yelped in pain at that.

"Use Quick Attack this time!" Ash ordered.

"Pika!"

The rodent charged fast at the poison-type Pokémon, knocking her away. The female Nidoran fell on her stomach. She wanted to attack, but she was too weak at this point.

"Here's my chance!" Ash exclaimed before turning his hat backwards. He grabbed a Poké Ball from his pocket and got ready to throw it. "Poké Ball, GO!"

The boy threw the Poké Ball at the female Nidoran. As soon as it touched her, she turned into red light and disappeared inside of it. The device landed on the ground, shaking for a while with its center being lighted in red. Ash looked intensely at the Poké Ball, waiting for it to stop shaking.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Poké Ball stopped shaking, with its center no longer lighted in red. Ash was speechless as he realized he just caught a Pokémon. He smiled widely before running towards the Poké Ball, grabbing it and holding it high in the air.

"Woo-ooh! I did it! For the first time, I captured a Pokémon!" the trainer exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Pi-Pikachu!" the electric-type Pokémon said while making a peace sign.

Ash was making a silly dance while holding his Poké Ball in the air, celebrating his first capture.

"This is finally starting to be a great journey!" he exclaimed before putting the Poké Ball in his pocket. "Let's go, Pikachu!" he said as he turned his hat forward.

"Pika!"

* * *

The trainer and his Pokémon continued on their way, as they eventually arrived inside the Viridian Forest.

"Hey, you!"

Ash and Pikachu looked at where they heard that voice from and noticed someone else nearby. It was young brown-haired boy, wearing a rounded hat, a white sleeveless shirt, blue shorts and grey shoes. He was also carrying a net and some sort of box.

"You're a Pokémon Trainer, right?" the boy asked Ash.

"Yeah. Why asking that?" the trainer asked.

"I'm a Bug Catcher and I'm here to challenge you for a Pokémon Fight!" the boy exclaimed.

"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I accept to fight you with pleasure!" Ash replied, smirking.

"Alright, then. Go, Caterpie!" the Bug Catcher exclaimed, throwing a Poké Ball.

The Poké Ball opened by itself and a small Pokémon appeared. It looked like a green caterpillar with red antennae. It also had black eyes, yellow circles on the sides, a yellow underside and a yellow tail. Ash grabbed his Pokédex, scanning the Pokémon.

"Caterpie. Bug-type Pokémon. With the suctions on its feet, it is able to climb walls and slopes." The Pokédex said.

"I know what I should do." Ash said before turning his hat backwards and grabbing a Poké Ball. "Nidoran, I choose you!" he exclaimed before throwing the device.

Nidoran appeared in front of Ash. She looked weak from the fight she had with Pikachu.

"Oops! I forgot about that." The trainer from Pallet Town sheepishly said before grabbing a potion from his backpack and gave it to Nidoran. "Do you feel better now, Nidoran?" he asked after she drank the potion.

"Nia!" she enthusiastically said while standing up, not as weak as she was a few seconds ago.

"Alright, let's start this fight. Caterpie, use String Shot!" the Bug Catcher ordered.

The bug-type Pokémon sent a white string at Nidoran, tying her up. After a few seconds of struggling, the normal-type Pokémon broke her bonds and glared at the bug-type Pokémon.

"Nidoran, use Tackle!" Ash ordered.

"Nia! Nia nia!"

She charged at the Caterpie, knocking it away as it landed on a nearby rock. The bug-type Pokémon was too dazed from the attack.

"Caterpie, come back." The Bug Catcher said as he returned his Pokémon to its Poké Ball. "Your turn, Metapod!"

He threw another Poké Ball, followed by another Pokémon entering the fight. It looked like a green cocoon with rounded eyes. Again, Ash used his Pokédex on this Pokémon.

"Metapod. Bug-type Pokémon. Evolved form of Caterpie. It protects its body with a hard shell." The Pokédex said.

"Metapod, use Harden!" the Bug Catcher said.

The Metapod glowed brightly for a few seconds. As it happened, Ash smirked.

"That won't protect your Pokémon for too long. Nidoran, use Tackle again!" the trainer from Pallet Town said.

"Nia nia!"

She charged at the Metapod, hitting it. However, it was standing still. The Bug Catcher grinned.

"It protected my Pokémon very well. Now, I'll show you that your Nidoran isn't the only one who can use Tackle. Metapod, use Tackle right now!"

The bug-type Pokémon threw itself at Nidoran, hitting her. She landed on her back before going back on her feet.

"Sorry for sounding like a broken record, but use Tackle again, Nidoran!" Ash ordered.

Nidoran charged at Metapod, hitting it again. A few seconds later, Metapod landed on the side. The Bug Catcher looked shocked before grabbing his Poké Ball.

"Come back, Metapod." He said to his Pokémon.

The bug-type Pokémon disappeared inside its Poké Ball.

"Well, looks like you won, Ash." The Bug Catcher said.

"Woo-ooh! We won!" the trainer from Pallet Town exclaimed before kneeling down and hugging Nidoran. "Nidoran, you did a great job!"

"Nia!" she replied, smiling.

She then returned inside her Poké Ball. Ash stood up and walked towards the Bug Catcher.

"You were a pretty good opponent." Ash said, extending his hand to him.

"Thanks. You were good as well." The Bug Catcher said before shaking his hand. "Well, I gotta go. Good luck with your journey."

"Yeah, good luck with... whatever you're doing." Ash said before shrugging and leaving along with Pikachu.

* * *

A few minutes later, Ash and Pikachu stopped on their way when they heard some noises. They looked in front of them and noticed a Caterpie being chased by a Bird Pokémon with brown eyes. It was small, but still larger than the bug-type Pokémon. It had brown feathers on its head, its back, its tail and half its wings. It also had crème feathers on its neck, its underside, and the other half of its wings. In addition, it had black markings around its eyes, pink feet and a pink beak. Ash recognized it as a Pidgey. The trainer was worried about the Caterpie's safety. He then got an idea.

"Let's see if this works. Poké Ball, go!" Ash exclaimed as he threw a Poké Ball at the Caterpie.

The bug-type Pokémon disappeared inside the Pokémon. It didn't take long before it stopped shaking. It looked like the Pokémon preferred to be captured rather than being eaten by that Pidgey. The trainer grabbed the Poké Ball and held it high.

"And another Pokémon for me!" the boy exclaimed excitedly.

All of sudden, the Pidgey started attacking the trainer. Ash yelped in alarm at that.

"Hey, knock it off!" he yelled in annoyance. "Pikachu, use Thundershock right now!"

"Pika-CHUUUU!"

The Pidgey was electrocuted by the rodent's attack. However, due to its proximity with Ash, the trainer was electrocuted as well. Pikachu stopped its attack. The flying-type fell down on the ground. As for Ash, he was standing there, dazed as he made a goofy smile.

"Good... job... Pikachu." He said, coughing a bit before coming back to his senses.

He immediately grabbed a Poké Ball and threw it at the Pidgey. Just like with Nidoran and Caterpie before, the flying-type disappeared inside the device, which was then shaking until its center stopped being red. Soon after, Ash threw his arms in the air, holding the Poké Balls of his two most recent captures.

"Yeah! I have four Pokémon!" he exclaimed in victory.

"Pi-Pikachu!" the rodent exclaimed, making a peace sign again.

Ash put both Poké Balls in his pockets. He then kneeled down near the electric-type Pokémon.

"I wouldn't have done it without you, Pikachu. You did a great job, buddy." The trainer said, smiling as he grabbed his Pokémon and hugged him.

"Cha!" Pikachu exclaimed, grinning as he hugged his trainer back.

Just as Ash was about to put the rodent on the ground, Pikachu immediately climbed his right arm and arrived on the trainer's right shoulder. The electric-type Pokémon didn't seem like he was going to move from there anytime soon. The boy smiled as he petted his Pokémon before standing up and walking away.

* * *

Later on, it was the night as Ash and Pikachu were sitting near a campfire the trainer just made. He then grabbed all three Poké Balls and summoned Nidoran, Caterpie, and Pidgey.

"Okay, first of all, you two aren't enemies anymore. You're teammates and I hope you'll get along well despite what happened earlier." The boy said to both Caterpie and Pidgey.

The two Pokémon looked at each other. They then nodded before looking at the trainer.

"Very well, then. Now, time for you to eat."

Ash put a plate in front of each Pokémon. The plates were filled with enough Pokémon food for them. All four of them enjoyed their meal, while the trainer enjoyed a sandwich he was able to make with the food in his backpack. After taking a few bites, he looked at his Pokémon, smiling at them.

"You know... I've met you all very recently. And yet, for some reason, I already have the feeling we're gonna make a great team together. I'm counting on you guys, just as much as you count on me to make it work. You all understand that?"

Caterpie nodded at that.

"Nia!"

"Pidgey!"

"Pikachu!"

"Great to hear that." Ash then thought about something. "Wait... There's something I gotta check."

The trainer grabbed his Pokédex and used it to scan Caterpie.

"This Caterpie is male." The Pokédex said.

"This Pidgey is male." It said as Ash scanned the flying-type Pokémon.

"This Pikachu is male." It said as the trainer pointed it towards Pikachu.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked.

"Sorry. Nidoran is obviously female, but I wasn't too sure if you three were guys or girls. I haven't learned about gender differences between Pokémon yet." The trainer said, sheepishly.

"Pika."

After he finished eating his sandwich, Ash looked up at the sky, watching the stars up there.

"The night sure is beautiful." He said.

The boy looked down and, much to his surprise, all four Pokémon were already sleeping. He then smiled as he thought it would be time for him to sleep as well.

"Good night, guys." Ash said before lying down and trying to sleep.

* * *

End of chapter.

Next chapter, we'll see Ash arriving in Pewter City, challenging its Gym Leader. You know what this means.

Frankly, I'm not sure if 'Nia' is supposed to be the female Nidoran's cry in the anime. I know she's among the Pokémon who don't say their name and instead do some kind of noise, but I wasn't sure if her cry should be written this way. I also wasn't sure what kind of sound Caterpie is supposed to make, so I decided to make him silent here.

Read and review!


	4. Brock and Roll

To answer SoulfulGinger17's questions... About the starters, well, it's another question where, if I say anything, I'd just spoil the story. As for Brockisms... I don't know what you mean by 'Brockisms'. You mean like his personality traits such as flirting with pretty girls? If that's what you mean, well... you'll see.

The following chapter is actually much longer than usual. In fact, I'd say it's twice as long as any previous chapter.

Chapter 4: Brock and Roll

During the following days, Ash traveled through Viridian Forest, on his way towards Pewter City. Along the way, he fought several trainers that were more or less like the Bug Catcher he fought on his first day in the forest. After several days of walking and fighting, the trainer noticed a sign in front of him. The boy ran towards the sign and read it. "Welcome to Pewter City" was written on that sign. Ash grinned as he looked behind the sign and noticed the aforementioned city.

"Yes! We did it, Pikachu! And we're getting closer to our first badge!" the trainer exclaimed in excitement.

"Pikachu!" the Pokémon nodded.

The trainer walked past the sign and headed towards the Pokémon Center. His Pokémon needed to get their health back after having several fights during all this time in the forest. Ash arrived next to the counter.

"Hello? Is there anyone?" the boy asked out loud, looking for whoever was working there.

"I'm coming." A female voice said. "I'm guessing you want your Pokémon to be in good health, right?"

"That's ri..."

Ash stopped talking when he turned to look at whoever just talked and his eyes widened in shock. In front of him was none other than Nurse Joy.

"Huh!? N-Nurse Joy?"

"Yes, that's me. Do I know you?" she asked.

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked, confused. "I thought you already worked at Viridian City."

"Oh!" she said before smiling as she realized what was going on. "The Nurse Joy you've seen in Viridian City is my sister."

"Oh." The trainer said, understanding the situation. "I see. So... She's your twin sister?"

"No, she's younger than me by two years. Speaking of, I have a family picture in my wallet."

Joy took her wallet from her pocket and showed a picture to Ash. The latter looked at it. His jaw then literally dropped on the floor as he realized the whole picture was filled with several Nurse Joys on it. The only thing that seemed different about any of them was the color of the cross on their hat.

"So... many... Nurse Joys..." the boy said, shocked to see how much identical to each other they all looked like.

"Some of them are my sisters, others are my cousins, while a few others are my aunts." Joy explained. She noticed Ash's reaction and giggled. "Many people have a similar reaction to yours when they see how much we all look the same."

"Hum... Not to be insulting or anything, but... you're sure you're not all just clones of one Nurse Joy?"

"No, far from it." she replied with a smile. "So, you're here for your Pokémon?"

"Huh? Oh! Right."

The boy put his three Poké Balls on the counter before grabbing Pikachu and putting him on the counter as well.

"Very well. This should only take a few minutes." Joy said before grabbing all three Poké Balls and Pikachu.

Ash stood there for a few seconds until he noticed a phone next to him.

"Hmm... I should call Professor Oak."

* * *

Meanwhile, in Oak's laboratory, the old man was drinking some tea.

"Ah..." he said after drinking some of it. "There's nothing better than having some tea to relax."

Suddenly, his phone started ringing. Oak stood up, walked towards the phone and answered it. Ash then appeared on the screen.

"Hi, Professor!" the trainer said, waving at him.

"Ah! Hello, Ash!" Oak replied, pleased to talk with the boy. "How is your journey as a Pokémon Trainer so far?"

"Fine. The first day was rough, but the following days have been going well. I've managed to capture three Pokémon!"

"That's pretty good, my boy. Where are you now?"

"I'm at Pewter City. I hope I'll be able to get my first badge there." Ash replied.

"Pewter City... Ah, yes. Gary called me two days ago to say he won a badge there. He's already on his way to Cerulean City." Oak said.

Soon after, Ash looked down in pitifulness.

"He's already ahead of me..." the boy said in a sad tone.

"Don't be so sad like that. He's got a car. You walk on foot. He certainly has an advantage when it comes to traveling around, but that doesn't mean you've got anything less than him. If you had a car, who knows if you would have been able to win a badge there before him." The old man said, reassuring Ash.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." The trainer said as he stopped looking down.

"Although, I do find it odd that you're hoping to get your first badge in Pewter City. Your mom told me you've been in Viridian City and they have a gym there."

"Yeah, but the Gym Leader was absent. Some old man told me he may not come back for days, weeks, or even months." Ash explained.

"Absent?" Oak asked, arching an eyebrow. "Huh. That's strange. Usually, when a Gym Leader is absent, he always gets someone else to replace him."

"Really?" Ash asked, puzzled. "That's weird."

"I'll probably investigate on this and see if there's any particular reason why the Gym Leader from Viridian City didn't get someone to replace him. Or _her_. Even I don't know if it's a man or a woman, as I've never met that Gym Leader."

"Thanks for looking into it. Oh! By the way, Professor, there's something I have to tell you." Ash said. "Several days ago, while I was in a Pokémon Center, I saw this strange Pokémon flying in the sky, covered in a golden aura. However, my Pokédex wasn't able to identify it. And then, it disappeared into who-knows-where."

"Are you sure you didn't imagine it?"

"I'm sure! Even Pikachu saw it!"

Oak stroked his chin as he pondered for a bit.

"Hmm... It's quite hard to believe this ever happened to you... but not THAT hard."

"What do you mean?" the trainer asked.

"Well, I have the feeling what you might have seen was a legendary Pokémon that hasn't been named yet. Some people claimed to have seen such Pokémon. For example, some have seen Articuno, others have seen Zapdos, while some others have seen Moltres. Most of the time, they said they met then when they weren't expecting it. It is rare for anyone to be able to see a legendary Pokémon, but it's not impossible." The old man explained.

"So... I was able to see what few people were only able to see?"

"Possibly."

"Woo-ooh!" Ash cheered. "It's so great to hear!" he then looked at his watch before realizing it must be time for him to get his Pokémon. "Oh! I have to go now, Professor. I'll talk to you at another time."

"Very well. Good luck on your journey!"

"Bye!" the boy said before hanging up the phone.

* * *

A few minutes later, Ash exited the Pokémon Center, with Pikachu on his right shoulder. Suddenly, the boy heard his stomach growling.

"Oh..." he said, rubbing his stomach sheepishly. "I guess it's time to get some food."

"Pika."

It didn't take long before Ash found a nearby restaurant. This one was a fast-food one, with hamburgers, hot-dogs, etc. The trainer licked his mouth as he looked at the pictures of the various foods on the counter.

"What can I do for you?" the female cashier at the counter asked him.

"Well... I'm gonna take two hot-dogs please." Ash replied, rubbing his hands hungrily before taking his wallet from his pocket.

"Very well, sir."

Soon after, Ash was sitting at a table, looking eagerly at the plate of hot-dogs in front of him. Pikachu was sitting on the opposite of the table, waiting for his trainer to have eaten. The boy looked at the condiments (ketchup, mustard, and relish) on his left. Without hesitation, Ash grabbed the ketchup bottle and started putting it on his hot-dogs. After that, the trainer put the ketchup bottle on the table, while also accidentally causing some drops of ketchup to fall near his plate. Noticing the ketchup drops on the table, Pikachu looked at it curiously before climbing on the table. He sniffed the ketchup drops, getting their scent. The Pokémon then licked one drop. His eyes widened in shock as he looked at the ketchup.

"PIKA!"

The rodent grabbed the nearby ketchup bottle and started drinking it. Ash's eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey, Ms.! How much for the ketchup bottle?" the trainer asked the cashier.

"Huh? Wait... You wanna buy that bottle?" she asked, confused.

"Yeah, my Pikachu seems to like it very much. How much for the whole bottle?"

She arched an eyebrow at him as she seemed to hesitate.

"Hum... Give me one moment."

The cashier left and went to see the manager of the restaurant. She explained to him what was going on.

"Wait... He wants to buy one of the ketchup bottles we have on the table?" the manager asked, confused.

"Yes. He wants to buy it because his Pokémon likes it a lot." The cashier said.

The manager stared at her in disbelief.

"Well... Tell him it's worth 3 bucks." He said, shrugging.

* * *

After a while, Ash finished eating his hot-dogs. He then put the ketchup bottle he bought from the restaurant in his backpack.

"Pikachu, I promise you to buy a few more ketchup bottles after my gym battle." The trainer said to his friend on his shoulder.

"Pikachu!" the Pokémon exclaimed, eagerly.

Suddenly, the trainer accidentally bumped into someone else.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

Ash looked at whoever he bumped into and realized it was some boy wearing a boy-scout outfit.

"Who do you think you are for bumping into me like that!?" the boy-scout exclaimed in annoyance.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." Ash replied, apologizing. "I was just on my way to the gym."

"The gym? You mean you want to fight Brock?" the kid asked.

"Brock?"

"Yeah, he's the gym leader in town. And looking at you, I can tell there's no way you can beat him." The boy-scout said, in a pretentious tone.

"What!? Say that again." Ash said, frowning at him.

"You heard right. I doubt you'd be able to get his badge. Heck, I bet you can't even beat me at all!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, let's settle this right now!" the trainer exclaimed. "Let's do a Pokémon fight!"

"Alright, but I'm warming you that you can't defeat a Jr. Trainer such as myself." The boy-scout said.

"We'll see about that." The boy from Pallet Town said, with determination in his eyes.

A few minutes later, both trainers were on a deserted field, having enough space to fight without disturbing anyone else living in Pewter City.

"We're gonna use two Pokémon each. I'll start first. Go, Diglett!" the Jr. Trainer exclaimed as he threw a Poké Ball.

Some creature appeared in front of him. It looked like a brown-skinned worm, with a round pink nose and black beady eyes. Its head was the only thing coming out of the ground. Ash took his Pokédex to scan the Pokémon.

"Diglett. Ground-type Pokémon. With the exception of its head, its body is always underground."

"I see. Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika!" the electric-type nodded before going in front of his trainer and getting ready to fight.

"Interesting choice." The Jr. Trainer said, smirking. "Diglett, use Scratch!"

"Diglett!"

The ground-type burrowed its way until it arrived next to Pikachu and scratched him with pointy rocks. The electric-type screamed in pain at that.

"Pikachu! Use Thundershock!" Ash ordered.

"Pika-CHUUUUUUU!"

Ash's Pokémon electrocuted the worm-looking Pokémon. However, the latter didn't seem to be hurt that much.

"Alright, Diglett. Use Scratch again!" the Jr. Trainer exclaimed.

"Diglett!"

The ground-type once again used that same attack on Pikachu. This time, however, it was too much for the rodent as Pikachu fell down, unable to continue the fight.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled as he ran towards his Pokémon, knelt down, and grabbed him in his arms. "Are you alright?"

"Pika..." he said in a weak tone.

"You've still got one more Pokémon to use. Choose wisely." The Jr. Trainer said, still smirking.

Ash walked backwards a few feet until he put Pikachu on the ground and grabbed a Poké Ball from his pocket.

"Go, Nidoran!"

The poison-type Pokémon appeared in front of Ash, getting ready to fight the Diglett.

"Nidoran, use Scratch!"

"Nia!"

Nidoran ran towards the Diglett used her claws to scratch it.

"Scratch her as well, Diglett!" Ash's opponent exclaimed.

"Diglett!"

The ground-type Pokémon used that same attack to hurt Nidoran.

"Use Scratch again, Nidoran!" the boy from Pallet Town exclaimed.

"Nia nia!" Nidoran exclaimed as she leapt at Diglett and scratched it again.

"Scratch one more time, Diglett!" the Jr. Trainer ordered.

With one more use of that attack, Diglett sent Nidoran falling on her back.

"Nidoran!" Ash exclaimed at that sight. Reluctantly, the boy from Pallet Town took his Poké Ball from his pocket. "Nidoran, come back."

In one instant, the poison-type Pokémon went back inside her Poké Ball.

"Diglett, come back." The Jr. Trainer said as his Pokémon came back inside its Poké ball as well. "Better luck next time, loser!" the Jr. Trainer exclaimed as he left.

Ash gritted his teeth as he watched his opponent leaving.

"This ain't over..." the boy from Pallet Town said to himself.

* * *

After healing Pikachu and Nidoran, Ash went back inside the forest. The electric-type Pokémon, once again sitting on his trainer's shoulder, looked curiously at the boy, having no idea what they were gonna do.

"Pika-pi?"

"Here's what we're gonna do, Pikachu. We're gonna train in the forest until I feel like you and the others are ready to take on any opponent. Are you ready?" the trainer asked.

"Pikachu!" the electric-type nodded with determination.

"Good!"

Suddenly, a wild Pidgey appeared in front of them.

"That should be a good start." Ash said. "Pikachu, let's show that Pidgey you're the best."

"Pika!"

For an entire afternoon, Ash used his four Pokémon against wild ones in order to train them. Soon enough, it was getting late as the boy's stomach growled, making him realize it was time to eat.

"Okay, Pikachu. Let's go back to the city and find a restaurant." Ash said to his friend.

"Pika!" the Pokémon nodded enthusiastically, especially since he wanted to eat ketchup again.

Suddenly, Ash heard some noises as another Pokémon arrived next to them. It looked like a purple-furred rat with white fur on its stomach. It also had red eyes, large teeth and a tail that was curled at the end. The boy took his Pokédex to identify it.

"Rattata. Normal-type Pokémon. It bites anything with its fangs." The Pokédex said.

Ash looked at the Rattata and smirked.

"You know what? I may have time for one more fight." Ash turned his hat backwards before throwing a Poké Ball. "Nidoran, I choose you!"

"Nia!" Nidoran said as she appeared in front of the Rattata.

"Nidoran, use Double Kick!"

"Nia!"

"Rattata!" the purple-furred one exclaimed as Nidoran jumped in the air, turned around twice in a row, and hit it with both of her feet.

The Rattata was thrown away backwards, landing on its back. The wild Pokémon seemed too dazed to continue fighting. Immediately, Ash grabbed another Poké Ball and threw it at the Rattata. The latter turned into red light and disappeared inside the device. The Poké Ball shook around on the ground until its center stopped being red. The boy grabbed the Poké Ball and held it in the air.

"I captured a Rattata! Woo-ooh!" Ash cheered in victory.

"Pi-Pikachu!" the electric-type exclaimed.

The trainer then knelt down next to Nidoran and petted her on the head.

"You did a great job, Nidoran. I'm so proud of you." Ash said, smiling at her.

"Nia nia!" she said, smiling as well.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened. Nidoran was covered by a bright white light. At first shocked to see that, Ash looked in awe as his Pokémon seemed to change physically. Several seconds later, the light disappeared, revealing Nidoran's new form. She looked slightly larger. She lost the horn on her forehead, her front teeth and her whiskers. She looked more turquoise than before and she was even standing on her hinder legs. Ash smiled widely at that.

"You evolved!" he exclaimed before hugging her.

"Nidorina!" she said, hugging him back.

After they stopped hugging, Ash took his Pokédex once again.

"Nidorina. Poison-type Pokémon. Evolved form of the female Nidoran. She prefers to use attacks such as clawing or biting."

Ash then smirked as he realized he may have a chance to defeat that Jr. Trainer the next time he'll meet him.

* * *

The following day, the Jr. Trainer was walking around Pewter City, whistling in joy.

"Hey, you!"

He turned around and recognized Ash, along with Pikachu.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to see you so soon. What do you want?" the Jr. Trainer asked.

"I want a rematch right now!" the boy from Pallet Town exclaimed.

"I should have seen that coming."

A few minutes later, they were on that same deserted field as before.

"Alright, then. Diglett, go!" the Jr. Trainer exclaimed.

The ground-type Pokémon appeared in front of him.

"Nidorina, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed.

"Nidorina!" she exclaimed as she appeared in front of the boy.

"Oh, I see you manage to make her evolve. Let's see if she's as strong as she looks. Diglett, use Scratch."

"Diglett!"

The ground-type used that same attack as before on Nidorina.

"Use Double Kick, Nidorina!" Ash ordered.

"Nidorina!" she exclaimed as she was doing the same thing she did to Rattata when she was a Nidoran.

"Diglett!" the ground-type Pokémon exclaimed as it looked too daze to continue.

"Uh-oh... Diglett, come back!" the Jr. Trainer exclaimed as Diglett went back inside its Poké Ball. "Sanshrew, it's your turn!" he exclaimed as he threw another Poké Ball.

Another Pokémon appeared in front of Nidorina. It looked like a sand and white-colored pangolin, with black eyes, and sharp claws on its hands and feet. Once again, Ash took his Pokédex to have more information on it.

"Sandshrew. Ground-type Pokémon. It is able to curl into a ball to protect itself." The Pokédex said.

"Sandshrew, use Scratch!"

Sandshrew charge towards the poison-type and used its claws to hurt her.

"Nidorina, use Tackle!" Ash exclaimed.

"Nidorina!" she exclaimed before tackling her opponent.

Sandshrew was thrown away by that attack. The ground-type stood back up, not giving up yet.

"Sandshrew, use Scratch again!" the Jr. Trainer ordered.

The ground-type nodded before scratching Nidorina again.

"Use Double Kick!" Ash ordered.

"Nidorina!"

She once again used that attack, this time on the Sandshrew. The latter yelled in pain as it received the attack. It fell on its back, unable to fight.

"Sandshrew!" the Jr. Trainer exclaimed in shock. Reluctantly, he grabbed his Poké Ball. "Come back now."

The ground-type disappeared inside its Poké Ball.

"We did it! We won!" Ash exclaimed as he hugged Nidorina.

"Nidorina!" she exclaimed, pleased of what happened.

"Alright, you won." The Jr. Trainer admitted. "But fighting Brock won't be an easy fight!"

"We'll see about that." Ash said, smirking with determination.

The Jr. Trainer soon left. The boy from Pallet Town then made sure his Pokémon were all in good health before heading towards the gym.

* * *

A while later, Ash and Pikachu arrived in front of the Pewter Gym. The whole building looked like it was build inside a giant rock. The trainer was slightly nervous, thinking about his first gym battle.

"Alright... It's time to do this."

The boy and the rodent went through the door. All of sudden, they bumped onto someone else. That someone let a drawing pad and a few pencils falling on the ground.

"Oops! I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." Ash apologized as he took the drawing pad and the pencils from the ground.

As the trainer handed those things back to the person he just bumped into, he was able to take a good look at that person. It was a black-haired boy with black eyes, who seemed to be about two or three years older than Ash. The boy had a red headband on his forehead, a green t-shirt, red shorts, and blue and yellow sneakers. He also had an orange backpack.

"I'm sorry as well. I wasn't looking either." The black-haired boy apologized.

"Say, did you come to fight Brock as well?" Ash asked.

"Fight Brock? No, I'm not really a Pokémon Trainer. I have a few Pokémon of my own, but I'm actually a Pokémon Watcher."

"A Pokémon Watcher? I'm not really familiar with that term." The trainer said.

"Well, let me explain. A Pokémon Watcher observes Pokémon, whether it's in their natural environment, or when they're trained by Pokémon Trainers. It takes notes and it also makes drawings of those observed Pokémon. I came here to take a look at the various fights Brock had with the trainers that had come to challenge him. I saw enough fights, so I'll head to another gym." The black-haired boy explained.

"You saw Brock fighting? If you don't mind me asking, is there anything I should know about this guy?" Ash asked.

"Well, all I know is he uses rock-type Pokémon. If you know how to beat those Pokémon, then you should get a badge." The Pokémon Watcher replied.

"Got it. Hum... By the way, what's your name again?" the trainer asked.

"I'm Tracey Sketchit. I come from the Orange Islands. What's YOUR name?" the Pokémon Watcher asked.

"I'm Ash Ketchum and I aim to become the greatest Pokémon Master the world has ever known!" the boy from Pallet Town exclaimed in determination.

"Pi-Pikachu!" the rodent exclaimed in determination as well.

"Good luck with that." Tracey said. "I gotta go now. Bye, Ash!" he said with a smile as he left the gym and waved at the trainer.

"Bye, Tracey!" Ash waved back at the watcher. "Alright, Pikachu. It's time to fight."

"Pika!"

The trainer and his Pokémon made their way inside the gym. It was quite dark, giving them trouble to identify the place correctly.

"Hum... Is anyone there?"

Suddenly, someone appeared, under some spotlight. That someone looked a teenager, about 15 years old. He had tanned skin, brown spiky hair, and eyes that, oddly enough, looked like they were always shut. He was wearing an orange shirt with short sleeves, light brown pants, blue and white sneakers, and a green vest with four pockets. He also had a black belt and two brown belt pockets, one on each side of his belt.

"My name is Brock, and I'm guessing you've come to challenge me. Am I wrong?" the teenager asked.

"No, you're right. I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town. I'm ready to defeat you and get your badge!" Ash replied, with determination.

"We'll see about that part." Brock said, smirking.

He then snapped his fingers, causing the whole room to be lighted. Ash noticed they were in an arena that was filled with lots of rock. It was quite a good place for a Pokémon fight.

"Here's how it goes. I'm allowing you the chance to choose either a one-on-one Pokémon fight, or a two-on-two Pokémon fight." Brock explained. "Which one do you choose?"

"Hum... I'll choose the one-on-one." the boy replied.

"Very well then." The teenager took a Poké Ball from his pocket and threw it away. "Onyx, go!"

Soon enough, a huge Pokémon appeared in the arena. He looked like he was made with several gray boulders stuck together. His head had a large mouth, two big eyes, and a spine on top of it. Ash was slack-jawed when he saw how big that Pokémon was.

"Whoa..." he said.

Without removing his eyes from the Pokémon, the boy grabbed his Pokédex and used it to scan the rock-type.

"Onyx. Rock-type Pokémon. It burrows at large distance in search for food."

"Okay..." Ash said before looking at Pikachu. "I don't know if you want to fight it or not, so..."

"Pika!" the rodent said as he jumped down his shoulder and got into a fighting stance.

Ash smirked at the sight of that.

"I'm ready, Brock!"

"If you say so. I'll give you the honor to start." Brock said.

"Hey, thanks. Pikachu, use Thundershock!"

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUU!"

The rodent electrocuted the rock-type for several seconds. However, Pikachu gasped in shock as Onyx didn't seem to be affected by it.

"Oh, man..." Ash said, worried about that.

"Onyx, use Bind!" Brock ordered.

Onyx roared as he caught Pikachu in a bind. The rodent was feeling pain by how much the rock-type was crushing him. His eyes widening in shock, Ash was getting more and more nervous as he didn't know what to do. Soon, however, he realized there was only one thing he had to do.

"Stop the fight!" he yelled as he ran towards Onyx.

"Onyx, give Pikachu back to his trainer." Brock ordered.

The rock-type slowly unbind the electric-type, lowering him down until he was in Ash's arms.

"Pikachu... Are you okay? Say something." the boy said, concerned about his Pokémon.

"Pika..." he said in a weak tone.

"Good work, Onyx. Come back." Brock said as the rock-type went back inside his Pokémon. "Just go to the nearest Pokémon Center and your Pikachu will be fine. Sorry you lose. Come back when you have a chance to defeat me."

Ash then looked at the teenager. The boy had determination filling his eyes.

"I promise it's gonna happen sooner than you think." The boy said before leaving with Pikachu.

Brock looked at Ash leaving for a moment. He then turned around, going towards some place where he had to go.

* * *

A while later, Ash exited the Pokémon Center. Pikachu was on top of his head, feeling well.

"I'm sorry I had to put you through this, Pikachu. I should have known better you couldn't beat that Onyx." The trainer said, looking sadly as he walked away from the Pokémon Center.

"Pika..." the rodent said, looking sadly as well.

"That Brock guy..." Ash said, suddenly looking angry. "Who does he think he is for crushing you like that?"

All of sudden, the trainer noticed Brock coming one way. Ash immediately hidden himself behind some tree, making sure the Gym Leader didn't notice him. As Brock walked past the tree, Ash motioned Pikachu to not make any sound as he discreetly followed the Gym Leader.

Several minutes later, the teenager arrived at some nice-looking house and entered it through the door. Ash and Pikachu arrived next to some bush and looked at the house.

"Hmm... Maybe he's gonna do some practice with his Pokémon. That way, I could think of a good strategy to beat him." The trainer said to himself.

The boy and his Pokémon came near the nearest window. Ash took a look through it and noticed several young kids, boys and girls, all looking similar to Brock. The boy from Pallet Town assumed they were Brock's siblings. The teenager himself was in the kitchen, preparing some dinner for what seemed like the whole family.

"Brock, my shirt is dirty!" some girl said to him.

"Put it next to the laundry machine, Suzy, and I'll take care of it." Brock replied, smiling at her.

"Brock, when are mom and dad going to come back?" some boy asked him.

"I dunno, Tommy..." he said, looking down. The teenager then looked up and smiled, trying to make sure Tommy wouldn't be sad. "But hopefully, they're gonna be back as soon as possible."

Seeing all of that, Ash was quietly leaving before running away as far away from that house. The trainer then rested against a tree, with Pikachu catching up to him.

"Who am I to complain? He's got several siblings younger than him to take care of, with none of their parents around. Now... I feel like a jerk for spying on him and all of that." He said, looking down.

"Pika..." the Pokémon said, looking at his trainer.

"Pikachu... For the rest of the day, we're gonna train as hard as we can." Ash said, looking at the electric-type. "Tomorrow, we'll see if Brock is truly unbeatable."

* * *

The next day, Ash and Pikachu went back at the Pewter Gym. The boy from Pallet Town trained his Pokémon as much as he could during the previous day. It was now time for rematch against the Gym Leader.

"You're back." Brock said as he noticed Ash. "Are you ready this time?"

"Two-on-two for this fight." The trainer said, determined.

"Okay then. Geodude, go!" the teenager exclaimed as he threw a Poké Ball.

In the following seconds, another Pokémon appeared. It looked like a floating gray boulder with two arms, a mouth and two brown eyes. As usual, Ash took his Pokédex to scan it.

"Geodude. Rock-type Pokémon. People often steps on them by accident, making these Pokémon angry for understandable reasons."

"This time, I choose Nidorina!" Ash exclaimed.

The poison-type Pokémon appeared in the arena, getting ready to fight Geodude.

"Nidorina, use Tackle!"

"Nidorina!"

The poison-type tackled the floating boulder.

"Geodude, use Tackle as well!" Brock ordered.

"Geodude!"

The rock-type tackled Ash's Pokémon.

"Nidorina, use Double Kick!" the trainer ordered.

"Nidorina!"

She leapt in the air, turned around twice and used both of her feet to hit Geodude. The latter fell down, knocked unconscious by the attack.

"Geodude, you did well." Brock said before having his Pokémon going back inside his Poké Ball. He grabbed another Poké Ball, getting ready to use another Pokémon. "Onyx, go!"

The huge rock-type Pokémon was back in the arena.

"Onyx, use Tackle!" the teenager ordered.

The rock-type roared as he tackled Nidorina with its head. The poison-type fell on her stomach. She then stood back up.

"Nidorina, time for the Double Kick!" Ash exclaimed.

"Nidorina!" she nodded.

The poison-type jumped in the air and used Double Kick on Onyx. The attack made some damage to Brock's Pokémon.

"Use Bind!" the teenager exclaimed.

Onyx caught Nidorina and crushed her until she was knocked unconscious. The rock-type then lowered her down on the ground.

"Come back, Nidorina!" Ash exclaimed as he grabbed his Poké Ball and made her disappear inside of it. He then looked at Pikachu, who was standing right next to him. "Are you ready, buddy?"

"Pika." The Pokémon nodded before going to face Onyx.

"You really think he has a chance to beat my Onyx? Even after what happened yesterday?" Brock asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I don't know for sure, but I can always try." Ash replied.

"It's your decision after all. Onyx, use Tackle!"

Onyx roared as he tackled Pikachu with his head. The electric-type screamed as he was launched in the air and fell down.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed, worried about his Pokémon.

"Pi!" the electric-type exclaimed, immediately standing up and ready to continue the fight.

"Okay, Pikachu. Use Thundershock... This time at full power." The trainer said.

"Pi...ka...CHUUUUUUU!"

This time, Pikachu unleashed all the electricity he had in his body. However, he was unable to control it well, causing several parts of the gym to get hit. Those electric hits were so intense, it caused a fire to start.

"Uh-oh..." Ash said, worried about the fire.

Suddenly, sprinklers set next to the ceiling started sprinkling water, putting the fire to an end. However, the water also landed on Onyx, causing the latter to suffer through a lot of pain. Ash was puzzled as he saw that. He took his Pokédex and searched for one piece of information in particular.

"Water is a weakness that can be used against rock-type Pokémon." The Pokédex said.

Ash then smirked as he realized what this meant.

"Pikachu, I hope you've still got some energy left in you. If you can, use Thundershock again!" the trainer exclaimed.

"Pika!" the electric-type Pokémon nodded. "Pika-CHUUUUUUU!"

Onyx screamed in pain as he received the electricity from the rodent.

"Onyx! No!" Brock exclaimed in shock.

"Alright, Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed in joy. "Now, time to finish this fight! Use Thund..."

Suddenly, the trainer stopped what he was doing as he looked at Onyx. The rock-type Pokémon was feeling way too much pain at this moment. Ash could tell Onyx simply wanted this pain to end right away. At this moment, the trainer was feeling bad for what was happening to Brock's Pokémon.

"Pikachu... Let's go right now." Ash finally said, any joy he had now gone.

"Pika?" Pikachu said, confused as he looked at his trainer.

The latter motioned him to come back on his shoulder. Still confused, Pikachu simply shrugged before running back to said shoulder.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Brock asked Ash. "The fight's not over yet."

"I think it is. And I'm not the winner, once again." The trainer said before heading towards the door, leaving the gym.

Brock stood there, surprised to see this happening.

* * *

Several minutes later, Ash and Pikachu were walking around Pewter City, heading towards the Pokémon Center.

"We were closer to victory this time, but it wasn't enough." The boy said to his Pokémon. "I hope we'll do better next time. If not, then maybe we should just capture another Pokémon that is good against rock-types. Nidorina was doing well. So, maybe another Pokémon that is similar to her..."

"Ash! Wait a minute!"

Ash and Pikachu stopped as they turned around. They noticed Brock running towards them. He stopped running as he arrived next to them.

"Brock?" Ash said, puzzled to see the Gym Leader coming to see them.

"Ash, why did you say the fight was over?" the teenager asked.

"Why? Well, I took advantage of the sprinklers and I don't think it was a fair move to do. I mean, I don't think it was part of the environment. Plus, your Onyx was feeling too much pain. I didn't want to bring him more misery than what he got. He doesn't deserve any misery at all." The trainer replied.

"Is that all?" Brock asked, with a stern look.

"Yeah. Those are the reasons why I said it was over. Because of that, I don't deserve the badge." Ash said, looking down.

Brock then searched in his pocket and grabbed something from it.

"Ash, let me give you this."

The boy looked up and noticed the teenager holding something in his right hand. It was a badge shaped like a gray boulder.

"Here's your Boulder Badge. You deserve it." Brock said, smiling.

"Huh?!" Ash said, confused. "But... Why?"

"Let me tell you why. You showed compassion towards my Onyx. A good trainer must know how to take care of Pokémon. Not just towards his own Pokémon, but also towards Pokémon any fellow trainer has." The Gym Leader replied.

"Hum... You're sure I deserve that badge because of that?"

"Yes. Frankly, I'd rather give a badge to someone who lost to me, and yet still showed compassion towards a Pokémon, than to some jerk who won against me, and yet doesn't give any kind of respect to any Pokémon. Also, let me ask you this. Between you and me, who's the Gym Leader?"

"Well, it's you." Ash replied.

"Exactly. So, you don't decide if you deserve it or not. I'm the only one who decides and I decided you earned it."

"Well... I have to confess something." The trainer said, nervous. "Yesterday, I was so frustrated by our fight that I spied on you just to see if you were practicing with your Pokémon outside of the gym. That way, I could be inspired to make some strategy. But then... I saw you taking care of your siblings and I felt bad for that. So... I dunno if I deserve it anyway." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"You saw me taking care of my siblings? Oh... Well, it doesn't make you any less deserving. If you wanna know the truth, something bad happened to both my parents. My mom was on a cruise line that disappeared three months ago and she hasn't been seen since then. And then, my father got sick and has been in a hospital for a while now. I have to take care of my siblings because of that..."

"BROCK!"

Ash, Pikachu, and Brock turned around and noticed one of Brock's brothers running towards. The brother stopped near them, catching his breath.

"Forrest? What's going on?" Brock asked his sibling.

"It's the hospital. They called and they said that dad is fine now!" Forrest replied.

"Dad..." the teenager said.

Immediately, Brock and his brother ran towards the hospital. Ash smiled at them.

"Glad to see his father is no longer sick." The trainer then noticed something. He looked at his hands, then at his pockets. He gasped before running towards Brock. "Hey! You forgot to give me my badge!"

"Pikachu!" the Pokémon exclaimed as he followed his trainer.

* * *

At the hospital, Brock and Forrest arrived in some room. There, a guy looking like an older version of Brock was sitting on the side of a bed. Tears of joy appeared from Brock's eyes.

"Dad!" Brock and Forrest exclaimed as they hugged their father.

"Boys!" their father exclaimed as he hugged them. "I'm glad to see you both. How are your siblings?"

"They're all fine, dad. They're all fine." Brock said, smiling at his father.

"The doctors said I was in great health now. I can take care of the gym, starting tomorrow." He said as they stopped hugging.

"That's great, dad." Forrest said.

"It also means something else. Brock, you can now leave and fulfill your dream of becoming a Pokémon Breeder." Their father said.

Shocked at the moment, Brock was speechless as he heard that. He literally had no idea what to say.

"What's going on, Brock?" his father asked.

"But... You need to take care of the others." The teenager said. "I mean, mom's no longer there..."

"Don't worry about that. Like you, I miss your mom more than anything, but I can take care of my children. If I ever need help, I'm convinced Forrest is old enough to help me with that. Isn't that right, Forrest?"

"Yeah, I think I can do that." Brock's brother replied.

"But, dad..." Brock said.

"Look, I know how much you want to be a Pokémon Breeder. I certainly don't want you to delay your dream even further, so don't bother changing my mind about it."

Staring at his father for a few seconds, the teenager then smiled as he hugged his father.

"Thanks, dad. I don't know how to repay you."

"Just make your old man proud by becoming the world's greatest Pokémon Breeder and we're even."

"Again, thanks a lot."

All of sudden, Ash and Pikachu arrived in the room, catching their breath.

"Ash?" Brock said, confused to see them.

"My... my... my... my badge..." the trainer finally said.

"Oh! Right. I'm sorry." The teenager said as he gave the Boulder Badge to Ash. "Ash, allow me to present you to my father, Flint. Dad, this is Ash Ketchum. He just won a fight against me."

"Nice to meet you, sir." Ash said as he shook Flint's hand.

"Nice to meet you too, kid." Brock's father replied.

"Well, I gotta leave. Sorry for leaving so soon, but I'm hungry." The trainer said.

"No need to apologize. Enjoy your meal." Flint said.

"Okay then. Bye everyone." Ash said as he waved at them before leaving with Pikachu.

* * *

The next morning, Ash and Pikachu left the Pokémon Center, getting ready to leave for the next city. The trainer looked at his first badge while they were walking.

"I can't believe we finally got a badge! Only seven left to get!" Ash exclaimed with joy.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed with joy as well.

All of sudden, Ash noticed Brock walking on his way, carrying a blue backpack on him.

"Hey, Brock!"

The teenager noticed Ash and walked towards him.

"Oh! Hey, Ash."

"Where are you going with that?" the trainer asked.

"Well, my father is taking care of the gym and my siblings now. So... he allowed me to leave Pewter City so I can be a Pokémon Breeder. That's always been my dream and I'm excited to finally start my journey for that. I'm gonna explore the whole region of Kanto." Brock replied.

"Hey, that's great to hear! Good luck on your journey!" Ash said, smiling.

"Good luck on your journey as well." Brock said, smiling back before heading walking away.

Ash stood there, watching the teenager leaving. Soon enough, Ash thought about something. He gave it some more thought before looking back at the teenager.

"Hey, Brock! Wait a minute!" the boy from Pallet Town exclaimed.

Brock stopped walking and turned around.

"What is it, Ash?"

"Well... How about we travel together? You're gonna travel around Kanto. I'm gonna travel around Kanto as well. So, instead of traveling alone, we could travel together. What do you think?"

Brock thought about it and then smiled.

"Yeah. You seem like a nice guy, so... Sure, let's do this."

"Alright!" Ash cheered.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed in joy.

The teenager walked back towards the trainer. They then walked towards the edge of Pewter City, on their way to the next city...

* * *

End of chapter.

Brock has joined Ash and Pikachu. In the next chapter, they'll take a trip through Mt. Moon.

I wanted to give something for Tracey to do, so I decided to use him as the guy who keeps saying "Yo! Champ in making!" at the beginning of each gym.

Honestly, I'm surprised "Brock and Roll" has never been used as a title for an actual episode, given the amount of puns they used for those titles.

Read and review!


	5. Team Rocket on Mt Moon

Oh. Well, SoufulGiner17, yeah, Brock's gonna be just like in the anime.

Chapter 5: Team Rocket on Mt. Moon

After he managed to get his very first badge, Ash left Pewter City, going towards the next city where he could get a second badge. Along with Pikachu, the trainer was now traveling with Brock, who left the gym to his father and decided to travel with Ash to learn more about becoming a great Pokémon Breeder.

At this moment, a few minutes had passed since they left Pewter City.

"Do you know which city is the closest to us?" the trainer asked his traveling companion.

"I think it's Cerulean City, but I'm not entirely sure." Brock replied. "Let me check my map."

The teenager took a map from his backpack and looked at it.

"Yep. It's Cerulean City indeed. There's a gym there, so you can get your second badge when we arrive in that city."

"That's great to hear!" Ash exclaimed with joy.

"Pika!" the Pokémon said.

"However, we will have to go through Mt. Moon to get there." The breeder said.

"The mountain? So, it's gonna take us a while?" the boy asked.

"Most likely."

Ash sighed at that before looking up with determination.

"Alright then. It's not a mountain that will discourage me from continuing my journey!"

"Pika Pika!"

"That's good to hear." Brock said. "By the way, aside from Pikachu and Nidorina, what other Pokémon do you have?"

"I have Caterpie, Pidgey, and Ratatta. I know it's nothing much compared to much stronger Pokémon, but I think it's a good start." Ash replied.

"Yeah. You're just starting after all."

"What about you? Do you have any Pokémon on you?"

"Well, I have the same Onyx and the same Geodude you fought yesterday. Those are the only Pokémon I have."

"I see. By the way, if you don't mind me asking... How come your eyes are always shut?"

"What are you talking about?" Brock asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Hum... Never mind." Ash replied, smiling sheepishly.

"Hey, you!"

Ash, Brock, and Pikachu noticed someone in front of them. It was some young boy wearing a blue cap, a yellow shirt, blue shorts, and white and blue shoes.

"My name is Joey and I wanna fight either one of you in a Pokémon Battle!" the young boy exclaimed.

Ash smirked as he heard that.

"I'm Ash Ketchum and you can count me in, Joey!" the boy from Pallet Town exclaimed.

"Alright then. Ratatta, go!"

Joey threw a Poké Ball, making a Ratatta appear in front of him.

"Ratatta!"

"I have a Ratatta myself, but I have someone else in mind for this. Caterpie, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed as he threw a Poké Ball.

The bug-type appeared in front of the trainer.

"Rattata, use Tackle!" Joey exclaimed.

"Rattata!"

The normal-type ran towards Caterpie and tackled him. The bug-type immediately stood back up.

"Caterpie, use String Shot on that Ratatta!" Ash ordered.

Caterpie used his attack, mummifying the normal-type. The latter struggled to get itself free.

"And now, follow it with a Tackle!"

The bug-type ran towards the normal-type and tackled it, throwing it away. The Ratatta was too dazed to fight. Seeing that, Joey was shocked.

"Rattata, come back!" he exclaimed as his Pokémon went back inside its Poké Ball. "I can't believe my Rattata lost to a small bug like yours." He said to Ash.

"Well, I guess it's a good example of not judging a book by its cover." Brock said.

"Go ahead. Choose another Pokémon." Ash said to Joey.

"Hum... It's the only one I have. So... you won the fight." The Youngster said.

"Woo-ooh! I did it!" the boy from Pallet Town cheered.

"I swear I'll make my Ratatta stronger and we'll see if you can defeat me again!" Joey said, with determination in his eyes.

"Good luck with that. I wouldn't mind doing a rematch with you." Ash said, smirking.

"Alright then. See ya!" Joey said as he waved at them and left.

"Bye, Joey!" Ash said, waving back.

As he waved back as well, Brock then noticed something.

"Hum, Ash..."

"What?"

The breeder pointed towards Caterpie. The latter was spraying mist, covering himself with it. Several seconds later, Caterpie changed his form turning into a Metapod. Ash smiled widely as he saw that.

"Sweet! You evolved into a Metapod!" the trainer exclaimed as he knelt down and hugged the bug-type. "I'm so glad to see that. I'm guessing you're glad as well."

Metapod blinked his eyes, making it his own way of nodding.

"You deserve some rest now." Ash said before making his Pokémon disappear inside his Poké Ball. "I'm ready to go." He said as he stood up.

"So am I." Brock said.

"Pika."

* * *

Ash, Pikachu, and Brock continued their way towards Mt. Moon. Along the way, they encountered several other trainers, all ready to fight. Of course, the boy from Pallet Town was always willing to fight any of them. Some fights ended with victory for the young Ketchum, while others were the opposite. This went on and on until, after three days of traveling, our heroes finally arrived next to Mt. Moon.

"Whoa... It's pretty huge." Ash commented, looking at the mountain.

"Before we go there, we should go to that Pokémon Center." Brock said, pointing at the aforementioned building set next to the mountain.

"You're right." Ash said, knowing his Pokémon needed to have their health restored.

They arrived inside the Pokémon Center. The trainer spotted Nurse Joy at the counter and came nearby.

"Hello. Could you take care of my Pokémon?" Ash asked, putting his Poké Balls and Pikachu on the counter.

"Of course." She replied with a smile. "Is there anything else we can do for you?"

"No, that's all..."

Ash was interrupted when Brock pushed him out of the way. The trainer nearly fell on his back before getting the right balance to avoid falling. He sighed in relief before looking at the breeder. Much to Ash's confusion, Brock was holding Joy's hands in his, while also blushing.

"Nurse Joy, it is my pleasure to meet you on this beautiful day." The teenager said, in a charming tone.

"Hum... Yes, it's a beautiful day indeed." She said, confused to see Brock doing that.

Both Ash and Pikachu arched an eyebrow at that.

"Hum... Brock?"

"Later, Ash." The breeder said, hearts floating above his head. "Can't you see I'm busy right now?"

Ash and Pikachu then looked at each other, shrugging at what was going on.

"I'll see you in a few minutes, Pikachu." The trainer said to his Pokémon.

"Pikachu." He nodded.

The boy walked away from the counter, looking around the Pokémon Center.

"Hey! Young man! Come here!"

The trainer turned around and noticed some guy behind some table. The man had brown hair and a thin mustache. He was wearing a white shirt, green pants, brown shoes, and a white headband. Ash looked around before pointing at himself.

"Were you talking to me?" the boy asked.

"Who else? I've got a special deal for you and you only!" the man said.

Ash shrugged before coming next to the table.

"You are a Pokémon Trainer, right?" the man asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"You must be looking for the best Pokémon to catch and train, right?"

"You could say that."

"Then, I've got the perfect deal for you, young man!" the man exclaimed enthusiastically. "I've got something to sell and you seem like the right person who would want what I have to offer."

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"Take a look at this Pokémon!" the salesman said as he showed him a picture.

Ash looked at the picture. The Pokémon on it looked like a red-skinned fish with white fins, yellow fins on its back and stomach, and long barbels.

"Who's that Pokémon?"

"It's a Magikarp, boy! And let me tell you why you should get one. Once you trained it enough, it evolves into a powerful Gyarados. With such a Pokémon, you'll be able to win several fights! On top of that, it produces tons of eggs within a year. If you want, you could sell those eggs to other people who want a Magikarp and you'll become rich!"

"Are you serious?" the trainer asked, surprised to hear that.

"Absolutely! Also, because you seem like a nice kid, I'm gonna do something for you. Usually, I would sell it $1,000. However, I'm willing to sell it to you for just $500!" the salesman said.

"Hum..." Ash said, hesitating as he wasn't sure if it was such a good deal to accept or not.

"Refuses that offer entirely." Brock said as he arrived next to them, frowning at the salesman. "Magikarp aren't rare. They are one of the most common Pokémon to find. Even a baby could catch one without putting any effort whatsoever."

"WHAT!?" Ash exclaimed, shocked to hear that before turning his attention towards the salesman and glaring at him. "Did you think I was foolish enough to accept such a lame deal?"

"Well..." the salesman said, sweating nervously. "I wouldn't say foolish... More like inexperienced."

"You should be ashamed of yourself for trying to scam my friend." Brock said, still frowning at the salesman.

"Hey!" Nurse Joy exclaimed as she noticed the salesman. "I thought I already told you to leave this place!" she said, glaring at him.

"Hum... Gotta go!" the salesman quickly said before rushing towards the main entrance and exiting the Pokémon Center in a hurry.

"Thanks, Brock." Ash said. "I hesitated at his offer because I felt like something wasn't right and I'm glad you came to confirm my suspicion."

"Hey, no problem. That's what friends are for." The teenager said, smiling. "At least, you weren't dumb enough to accept his offer right away."

"By the way, young man..." Nurse Joy said, getting Ash's attention. "Your Pokémon are ready. They're all in perfect health."

"Oh, good!" the trainer said.

* * *

A few minutes later, Ash, Pikachu, and Brock exited the Pokémon Center and headed towards the entrance to Mt. Moon. The heroes went through the entrance, going inside the mountain. They arrived inside a large cave, with walls, ground, and ceiling made of rock. It was darker than on the outside, but they were still able to look fine.

"Whoa... That place seems huge. It feels like being inside a labyrinth. I just hope we won't be lost there." Ash commented.

"Pika." Pikachu nodded.

"Don't worry about it, guys. Plenty of trainers have been able to get through the mountain. We still need to be careful, though." Brock reassured them.

Ash and Pikachu nodded before making their way through the cave. Suddenly, they heard a screech. They looked up and noticed several flying Pokémon coming their way really fast.

"Duck!" Ash yelled at their sight.

The trainer and his friends lied on their stomach, avoiding the flying Pokémon. Ash and Brock looked at them and were able to see what they looked like. They looked like blue-skinned bat with skinny legs. They had no eyes and no nose. The inside of their ears, along with the underside of their wings, was purple. They also had four visible fangs. Ash immediately grabbed his Pokédex and scanned them.

"Zubat. Poison-type and flying-type Pokémon. It lives in a cave and uses a supersonic cry against any threat."

All of sudden, the Zubat were flying back towards them.

"Pikachu! Get rid of them with your Thundershock!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika!" the rodent nodded. "Pika-CHUUUUUUUUU!"

The poison/flying-types were electrocuted by the attack. They all flied away soon after. Suddenly, one of them turned around and went back to attack the heroes.

"I'll take care of this one. Geodude, go!" Brock exclaimed as he stood up and summoned his Pokémon.

"Geodude!" the rock-type exclaimed.

"Geodude! Use your fists on that Zubat!" the teenager ordered.

"Geodude!" his Pokémon exclaimed as he punched the poison/flying-type hard enough.

"Now, tackle it to the ground!"

The flying boulder did so, with the Zubat soon hitting the ground. Immediately, Brock grabbed a Poké Ball and threw it at the poison/flying-type. The latter disappeared inside the device. The Poké Ball then shook around for a few seconds until its center stopped being red. Smiling proudly that he managed to catch the Zubat, Brock grabbed the Poké Ball and put it in his pocket.

"Great job, Geodude. You deserve to rest now." The breeder said as Geodude went back inside its Poké Ball.

"Nice catch you did there, Brock." Ash said as he stood up alongside Pikachu.

"Thanks, Ash. With Zubat, I hope we'll make a great team."

"Hey! I think I heard something over there!" a voice from afar exclaimed.

Ash, Pikachu, and Brock turned their attention towards where they heard that voice.

"Looks like we ain't the only one here." Ash said.

"Hmm... Somehow, I have a bad feeling about it." Brock said, slightly concerned.

"Huh?"

The breeder looked around and noticed a large amount of rocks all piled up on each other.

"Let's hide behind those rocks and see what happens." The teenager said before running towards that pile of rock and hiding behind it.

Not sure why Brock was doing that, Ash didn't bother to question it further as he joined him along with Pikachu. Hiding behind the rocks, they took a peek and noticed five persons coming. They were all men wearing a black domino mask, a black hat, a black shirt, black pants, white shoes, white gloves, and a white belt.

"I see no one here." One of those guys said.

"Weird. I thought I heard someone talking." Another said.

Taking a closer look, Ash noticed they all had a big red 'R' on their chest. The trainer had the feeling he already saw that 'R' before. Suddenly, it hit him. That 'R' was the same he noticed on that wanted poster about Team Rocket when he was in Viridian City.

"They're members of Team Rocket." He whispered to his friends.

"Pika?"

"Team Rocket?" Brock asked, concerned. "I think I've heard about these criminals. Their main goal seems to steal Pokémon."

Hearing that, Ash glared at the Team Rocket grunts. He then remembered that Officer Jenny also said something similar about those criminals when he met her a while ago.

"Well, since it seems like no one's there, we should go back to work." One Team Rocket grunt said to the others.

They all nodded before leaving, going further inside the cave. After they left, Ash slowly walked away from the pile of rocks and was about to follow them.

"Hey, wait a minute..." Brock said as he grabbed Ash's hand, preventing him from going any further. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm gonna follow them. I'll put a stop to their activities." The trainer replied, with determination in his eyes.

"Ash, they're criminals. It's dangerous to deal with them. And I doubt they would show any mercy to you."

"Maybe. But I won't let these guys steal Pokémon from others. No trainer, no breeder, no Gym Leader, and no one else should be unfortunate enough to have their Pokémon be stolen like if they were money from a bank vault. I'm gonna stop them, whether you agree or not!" he exclaimed while clutching his fists.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded in determination before jumping onto Ash's shoulder.

"Glad to hear that, Pikachu." The trainer said, smirking before removing his hand from Brock's grip and running towards where the Team Rocket grunts had gone.

"Ash, wait!" the breeder exclaimed. He then sighed as he followed the boy from Pallet Town. "He's looking for trouble and I can't believe I'm following him into that."

* * *

Inside the cave, the grunts were at work. A lot of them were using either shovels or pickaxes, digging as they seemed to look for something. At this moment, Ash, Pikachu, and Brock hid behind another pile of rocks. They took a peek at the grunts at work.

"If only we could know what they're doing exactly..." the boy whispered to the Pokémon and the teenager.

Soon enough, one grunt stopped digging for a moment, rubbing his forehead as he looked tired.

"Hey, could someone remind me what we're looking for again?" the grunt asked the others.

"Geez, if only you had the memory of a Donphan!" one other grunt snapped while still digging. "We're trying to find a Moon Stone. According to the Boss, it's pretty valuable and might be useful in his plan. There, now will you stop asking, or do I have to hit you?"

"Oh... I'm fine." The first grunt replied, smiling nervously at the threat of being hit.

"Huh. Talk about convenience." Ash whispered.

"Yeah. Now that we know what they're doing, we could think of a plan." Brock whispered. "I think we..." he was interrupted as Ash left the pile of rocks and charged towards the grunts. "No! Come back here!"

"Stop what you are doing here right now!" the trainer exclaimed at the grunts.

The latters looked at the boy from Pallet Town and his rodent before bursting out laughing.

"Look, guys! That brat and his Pikachu want us to stop!" one of them said, laughing. "Who do you think you are? A wannabe superhero?"

"No! I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town! I'm gonna be the greatest Pokémon Master and you will pay for your criminal activities!" the boy exclaimed with determination.

"Pikachu!"

"Enough with that. Guys, let's get that snooping kid and tie him up before he can alert the authorities." One other grunt said to the others.

The others nodded as one of them grabbed some rope and a white cloth to gag the trainer.

"Uh-oh..." Ash said, not sure what to do against the bad guys.

"Pika..." the rodent jumped from his trainer's shoulder and aimed at the grunts. "...CHUUUUUUU!"

The grunts yelled in pain as they were electrocuted. After a while, Pikachu landed in front of his trainer.

"Good work, Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika!"

The grunts looked dazed before they came back to their senses.

"Alright, kid. You want a Pokémon fight? You'll get one." One grunt said, gritting his teeth as he took a Poké Ball from his pocket. "Raticate, go!"

Some second later, another Pokémon arrived. It looked like a much larger version of a Rattata. It was furrier and walked on two legs. Its fur was brown and beige. In addition, it had three rows of whiskers and its tail was closer to that of an actual rat. Ash took his Pokédex to scan it.

"Raticate. Normal-type Pokémon. Evolved form of Rattata. Its whiskers maintain its balance and it swims in river to hunt preys." The Pokédex said.

"Rattata, I choose you!" the boy exclaimed.

The purple-furred rodent appeared in front of Ash.

"Rattata!" he exclaimed.

"Ha!" the grunt exclaimed in amusement. "You think your Rattata has a chance against my Raticate? Pathetic!"

"We'll see who's the pathetic one soon enough." Ash said, glaring at the bad guy. "Rattata, use Tackle on your evolved form!"

"Rattata!"

The purple-furred one charged at the Raticate. Suddenly, Rattata tackled his evolved form, throwing it on its back.

"Raticate, use Hyper Fang!" the grunt ordered.

"Raticate!" the huge rodent exclaimed.

The normal-type stood back and leapt at its pre-evolved form, biting it with its sharp teeth. The purple-furred one yelled in pain at that before falling on his back, too weakened to continue the fight.

"Rattata!" Ash exclaimed in shock, concerned for his Pokémon. "Come back now!"

The purple-furred rodent went back inside his Poké Ball.

"Ha! Told you your Pokémon didn't stand a chance against mine!" the grunt exclaimed, smirking.

"I'm not done yet. I choose you, Pidgey!" Ash exclaimed as he summoned his flying-type.

"Pidgey!" his Pokémon exclaimed.

"Pidgey, use Quick Attack!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pidgey!" the flying-type exclaimed as it flied fast enough towards the normal-type, hitting it quickly.

"Use Gust!" Ash exclaimed.

His Pokémon flapped its wings really fast, making a tornado that blew away normal-type away. The latter fell on its side. The Raticate was struggling to stand up, not giving up. Then, it gave up, landing on its stomach.

"Raticate, come back!" the grunt exclaimed as his Pokémon went back inside its Poké Ball.

"My turn, now!" another grunt exclaimed as he threw a Poké Ball. "It's your turn, Sandshrew!"

Some seconds later, a Sandshrew appeared in front of the grunts.

"Use Scratch, Sandshrew!" the grunt exclaimed.

The Sandshrew leapt at Pidgey and used its claws to scratch it.

"Pidgey!" the flying-type yelled in pain.

"Pidgey, use Gust!" Ash ordered.

Pidgey used that same attack on the ground-type, which blew it away.

"Use Quick Attack now!" the trainer exclaimed.

"Pidgey!" the flying-type exclaimed as he flied fast enough to hit Sandshrew, sending the latter crashing into the grunt.

The latter groaned in pain as he was crushed by the weight of his Pokémon.

"It's our turn now!" the other three grunts who hadn't fought yet said, smirking as they hold their Pokémon.

"Don't even think about it." Brock said as he arrived next to them. "Come here, Onyx!"

The teenager summoned his large rock-type Pokémon. The latter roared loudly. At this moment, the Team Rocket grunts all looked in fear at the Pokémon that was so large, it could reach the ceiling.

"Onyx, use your tail to swipe those grunts away!" the breeder ordered.

The rock-type swung his tail before using it to hit the criminals. All five of them were thrown against the wall. They then fell on the ground, groaning in pain at that. They looked up and noticed Onyx, ready to attack them again.

"I don't know about you guys, but I wasn't prepared to fight an Onyx today." One of the grunts said to the others.

"How about we run away and deal with this kind of Pokémon another day?" another of them suggested.

"Good idea." Another replied, with the rest nodding.

Immediately, all five grunts stood up and ran away to the nearest exit.

"Well, that takes care of that..." Ash began to say.

All of sudden, he was interrupted as Pidgey started to glow in a bright light. The Pokémon started changing size, becoming larger. After a while, the flying-type stopped glowing, showing his new form. He had a long head-crest that was also red. His tail had yellow feathers and red feathers. His wings and feet were much larger, as was the rest of his body.

"Pidgeotto!" the flying-type exclaimed.

"Oh, cool!" Ash exclaimed in amazement before getting his Pokédex to scan it.

"Pidgeotto. Normal-type and flying-type Pokémon. Evolved form of Pidgey. It protects its territory and is much more dangerous than a Pidgey."

"This is getting better and better!" Ash exclaimed with joy. "By the way, great work, Pidgeotto. You can rest now."

The boy made his Pokémon come back inside his Poké Ball. Brock did the same with Onyx before slapping the back of Ash's head.

"Ow!" the trainer yelled in annoyance. "What was that for!?"

"You charge into these criminals without even thinking of a plan first." The breeder said, frowning.

"So, what? We eventually won, right?"

"That's no excuse. You could have gotten us into a dangerous situation! Thankfully, we're alright, but you should have thought more about it. If we ever come across other criminals like that, make sure you know what you are doing. Do you understand?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Hearing what the teenager just said and looking at his expression, Ash looked down, feeling ashamed of what he had done.

"Yeah, I understand... Sorry, Brock... I'm... I'm sorry." The trainer said.

"Pika." Pikachu said, looking down as well.

"Hey, look at me." Brock said as he put his hand on Ash's shoulder. "Sorry if I sounded harsh, but I just wanted to make sure you understand my warming. I don't want either of us to get into a dangerous situation that would cost his life. It's alright now, but don't forget what I said." He said, smiling.

Ash looked up and nodded, smiling a bit more.

"Thanks, Brock. I'll make sure I'll know what to do next time this happens to us again." The boy said.

Suddenly, they heard some loud noise. They looked around and noticed some crate shaking around. Ash and Brock nodded to each other before coming next to that crate. They opened the crate, revealing that someone was in that crate. It was some guy with long black hair, glasses, a white buttoned shirt, black pants, and black shoes. He looked like some nerd. At this moment, the guy was tied up with ropes and gagged with a white cloth.

"Mmmph! MMMPH!" he screamed through his gag.

"Don't worry! We'll get you out." Ash said as he and Brock got the tied up guy from the crate.

The trainer removed the gag while Brock untied the ropes, freeing the stranger.

"Oh, thank goodness! I'm glad someone came to save me!" the guy said.

"What happened to you?" Ash asked.

"I was doing some research in this mountain. And then, those men working for Team Rocket came here for their own business. They feared I was going to tell the police about them if I left the mountain, so they tied me up and put me in that crate! That was a horrible experience!" the nerd exclaimed.

"Well, those Team Rocket grunts are gone, so you're no longer in danger." Ash said.

"That's a relief! And to show you my gratitude, I'm allowing you to choose one of the fossils I found." The nerd said as he took two fossils from his pockets.

Ash, Pikachu, and Brock looked in awe at the fossils. They both looked like shells of different shape. Hesitating for a moment, the trainer then looked at the breeder.

"Hum... Brock, I was thinking... Given that Onyx was the one who chased those criminals, maybe you should be the one to get a fossil." Ash said.

Brock smiled at the generosity the trainer was showing.

"Thanks, Ash. But I think the fossil should be yours. I'm not that interested into getting a fossil anyway." The breeder said.

"But... Okay then. If you say so." Ash looked at both fossils. After several seconds to think about it, he pointed towards the one on the nerd's left hand. "I'll take this one."

"Good. You've chosen the Helix Fossil. I'll keep the Dome Fossil then." The nerd said as he gave the Helix Fossil to the trainer. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna leave this mountain right away. I've been trapped in that crate for hours and I can't wait to get outside. See ya!"

Leaving with the Dome Fossil, the nerd waved at the heroes, who waved back at him.

* * *

Several minutes later, Ash and his friends were walking around the cave, on their way towards the exit leading to Cerulean City. At this moment, the trainer was looking at the fossil, which he was still holding in his hands.

"I can't believe I managed to get a fossil. It must be an extremely rare Pokémon! You're sure you don't want it, Brock?" he asked the breeder.

"I already told you. I don't need a fossil. Even if it was an extremely rare Pokémon, it's not like I've been looking all my life just to get one. So, keep it. It's yours." The teenager replied.

"Alright then. It's the last time I'm asking you about it." Ash said, smiling before looking back at his fossil.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said, smiling at that as well.

All of sudden, a smoke bomb landed next to the heroes. Soon after, smokes appeared, covering the area. Ash, Pikachu, and Brock were having some difficulties trying to see what was going on.

"Where did that smoke bomb come from?" the breeder wondered out loud.

Suddenly, a mechanical hand appeared from out of nowhere and snatched the fossil away from Ash.

"Hey!" the trainer yelped in alarm. He looked at where the hand came from and glared at whoever was responsible for this. "Give me that fossil back!"

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." A female voice said, with a tone that sounded pretentious.

"Ladies first." A male voice said, also with a tone that sounded pretentious.

"To protect the world from devastation..." the female voice said.

"To unite all people within our nation..." the male voice said.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."

"To extend our reach to the stars above..."

The smoke gradually disappeared, revealing those mysterious voices. One of them was a young woman, with red hair that was long enough to reach her waist, and blue eyes. She was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt with a red 'R' on it and a black shirt underneath, white shorts, long black gloves, long black boots, and green earrings.

"Jessie..." she said, smirking.

The other one was a young man with green eyes, and blue hair. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt with a red 'R' on it and also a black shirt underneath, white pants, black gloves and black boots. At this moment, he was holding a rose in his right hand.

"James..." he said, smirking as well.

Taking a closer look, Ash noticed about how much they looked like the ones that were on that same wanted poster he saw a while ago.

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!" the young woman exclaimed, striking a pose as she hold a fist next to her face.

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" the young man exclaimed, striking a pose which consisted of lifting his left leg and pointing his rose at the heroes.

Suddenly, a Pokémon landed right between Jessie and James. It looked like a cat with cream-colored fur and was standing on its feet. It also had four whiskers on his cheeks, a gold oval coin on its forehead, two whiskers surrounding said coin, brown fur on its paws and the curled tip of its tail, black ears with the inside being brown, two visible fangs, and no nose at all.

"Meowth! That's right!" the feline Pokémon exclaimed.

"Oh, man! More members of Team Rocket!" Ash said, gritting his teeth in annoyance. Suddenly, he looked confused as he thought about one thing in particular that just happened at this very moment. "Wait a minute... Did... Did that Pokémon just TALKED?" he asked, pointing at Meowth.

"Impressed, huh?" the feline asked.

"Well... It's just that I've never seen a Pokémon speak in English... or any other human language for that matter." The trainer said.

"Yeah, me neither." Brock agreed.

"Pika Pika." The rodent said.

"Let's just say I'm one of a kind." Meowth said, smirking.

Ash then quickly remembered they had just stolen his fossil and glared at them.

"Give me back my fossil right away!" the trainer exclaimed.

"Pika, Pikachu!" the rodent exclaimed, glaring at them as well.

"No way, you little brat." Jessie said. "It's ours now!"

"Give him back his fossil, or else..." Brock began to say.

"Ha! Ha!" James laughed. "The way you talk, it gives me the impression you THINK you're a threat to us!"

"You're certainly no threat to us and we'll show it to you! Ekans, attack them!" the young woman exclaimed as she threw a Poké Ball.

Soon after, another Pokémon appeared. This one looked like a purple-skinned snake. Its tail had a yellow rattle at its tip. Also, its eyes, its underside, and the band around its neck were all yellow as well.

"Ekans!" the reptile exclaimed.

"Koffing, attack too!" the blue-haired man exclaimed as he threw a Poké Ball as well.

Once again, another Pokémon was introduced. This one looked like a floating purple ball, with several craters around it. It had two eyes, a mouth with two visible fangs, and a skull and crossbones below his mouth. The Pokémon had a dumb smile too.

"Koffing!" the floating ball exclaimed.

"Nidorina, go!" Ash exclaimed while throwing a Poké Ball.

"You too, Geodude!" Brock exclaimed while doing the same thing.

Both Pokémon appeared in front of them.

"Ekans, use Wrap on the Nidorina!" Jessie ordered.

"Ekans!" the reptile exclaimed as he lunged at Ash's Pokémon.

Ekans wrapped Nidorina with his body. The female Pokémon struggled to get herself free, but the reptile's attack was causing her some damage.

"Geodude! Go help Nidorina!" Brock ordered.

"Koffing, use Smog on their Pokémon!" James ordered.

"Koffing!" the poison-type exclaimed as he made some fog appear from his craters.

Geodude started coughing a bit at that. Nidorina, being a poison-type herself, wasn't too much affected by that attack.

"Nidorina! Bite that reptile now!" Ash exclaimed.

His Pokémon nodded before biting Ekans. The latter yelled in pain as he was forced to let go of his opponent.

"Now, grab it and throw it away!" Ash added.

"Nidorina!" she exclaimed before grabbing the reptile, turning around while swinging him and then threw him on the nearest wall.

Ekans then fell on the ground. Nidorina didn't waste time before stomping onto him.

"Ekans!" the red-haired woman exclaimed at the sight of her Pokémon being treated like that.

"Geodude, go punch that Koffing!" the breeder exclaimed.

"Koffing, use Sludge on them!" the blue-haired man exclaimed.

"Koffing!" the poison-type exclaimed before spewing dark brown sludge at both Nidorina and Geodude.

Both Pokémon were blinded by the sludge. This caused Nidorina to stop her stomping.

"Ekans! Here's your chance! Use Tackle!" Jessie ordered.

"You too, Koffing!" James ordered.

Both poison-type Pokémon charged at Nidorina and Geodude, tackling them in the process.

"Nidorina!" Ash exclaimed, concerned for his Pokémon.

"Geodude!" Brock exclaimed, having the same reaction.

Jessie, James, and Meowth laughed evilly at that.

"Look at them! They're just pathetic!" the feline said in amusement.

"Those losers don't stand a chance against us, Jessie!" the blue-haired man said.

"I couldn't agree more with you on that, James!" the red-haired woman said.

"We'll see who's the real losers here!" Ash snapped at them before noticing that Meowth was the one holding the fossil. The boy then looked at the rodent on his shoulder. "Pikachu, I'm counting on you for the next part."

"Pikachu!" the electric-type nodded.

"Pikachu, use Thundershock on Ekans and Koffing now!"

"Pika..." the rodent said as he leapt in the air and arrived closer to both poison-types. "...CHUUUUUUUU!"

Ekans and Koffing yelled in pain at that. After Pikachu stopped electrocuting them, the two of them fell on the ground, unconscious. The Team Rocket trio was speechless at the sight of that.

"Ekans!" Jessie exclaimed, concerned for her Pokémon

"Koffing!" James exclaimed, having the same reaction. "How dare you attack our Pokémon like that?!" he snapped at Ash.

"How dare 'I'? YOU'RE the bad guys here!" the boy snapped back.

Jessie and James made their respective Pokémon coming back inside their Poké Ball.

"You may have defeated our Pokémon, but this ain't over yet!" the red-haired woman exclaimed.

"I'm fully aware of that." Ash said. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack on the short one!"

"The short one?" Meowth asked, confused. "Who is he calling the...?" he then looked at Jessie and James, who were both much taller than him. "Oh..."

"Pika!" the rodent exclaimed and quickly hit the feline, causing the latter to accidentally throw the fossil away.

Removing the sludge from his eyes already, Geodude immediately grabbed the fossil while it was in the air and floated back to where Ash and Brock were.

"Good job, Geodude!" Brock congratulated the rock-type while also pointing at Ash so the Pokémon would know who he should give the fossil to.

"Pikachu, use Thundershock once again, but on these three!" the trainer ordered while taking the Helix Fossil from Geodude.

"Pika...CHUUUUUUUUUU!"

Jessie, James, and Meowth screamed in pain as they were electrocuted. A moment later, the rodent stopped electrocuting them. The three of them sighed of tiredness after that before coming back to their senses.

"We haven't lost yet!" James exclaimed.

"Meowth, bring the mecha over here!" Jessie exclaimed.

"Here we go!" the normal-type exclaimed as he grabbed a remote control and pushed on a button.

Soon after, a huge human-shaped mecha appeared from a darkness-covered part of the cave. As the mecha arrived, Jessie, James, and Meowth went inside it, controlling it with the help of switches and buttons.

"Try to get rid of that, now!" the red-haired woman exclaimed, taunting the heroes.

"You can bet we're gonna try. Pikachu, use Thundershock again! This time, give it full power if you can!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika!" the rodent nodded before leaping in the air again. "Pika...CHUUUUUU!"

Again, the bad guys screamed in pain as they were being electrocuted inside the mecha. After a while, Pikachu stopped electrocuting them as he landed on the ground. Soon after, sparks of electricity appeared all around the mecha. And then...

BOOM!

The mecha exploded, creating a hole in the ceiling. The explosion was so powerful that Jessie, James, and Meowth were launched in the air, getting closer and closer to the sky.

"We... were... defeated?" the red-haired woman asked in disbelief.

"I can't believe it!" the blue-haired man exclaimed.

"Neither can I." the feline said.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off!" the three of them screamed as they disappeared into the sky with a twinkle that made the sound of a DING!

* * *

Ash looked up through the hole, looking where Team Rocket disappeared and whistling in amazement.

"If they were sent into the sky like that, I can't imagine how much that attack must have hurt." He said to himself.

Pikachu sighed in relief, as he was getting tired after the fight they had against them. Nidorina managed to remove the sludge from her eyes.

"Good job, you two." The trainer said to the electric-type and the poison-type. "You've done well against those bad guys. Well, time to rest, Nidorina." He said before making his poison-type going inside her Poké Ball.

"You too, Geodude. You earned it well." Brock said as his rock-type went inside his Poké ball as well.

Ash put the fossil inside his backpack and then put Pikachu on his shoulder, petting him soon after.

"So... How close are we to the exit?" the trainer asked the breeder.

"I don't know. The only way to find out is to continue walking." The latter replied.

Ash nodded before they continued on their way. Several minutes later, their eyes widened as they noticed an entrance with light from the outside. Arriving next to it, they realized they finally found the exit.

"Alright! We're finally out of here!" Ash exclaimed with joy as they went through that exit and arrived in a forest.

Brock smiled before looking up and noticing it was getting closer to nighttime.

"We should find a place in the forest where we could have a campfire and sleep." The breeder said.

"You're right. Let's go find that place."

"Pikachu!" the electric-type nodded.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest that was far away from the heroes, everything was calm. That was until several screams were heard from the sky.

"AAAAAAAAAH..."

CRASH!

Jessie, James, and Meowth groaned in pain as they landed on the grassy ground.

"I can't believe we were defeated by those... those... TWERPS!" the red-haired woman exclaimed furiously.

"In all my time as a member of Team Rocket, I think this is the first time I experienced such a humiliating defeat." The blue-haired man said, looking down.

"The Boss isn't gonna like it when he'll hear about that." The feline nervously said, fearing what their Boss would say. "Who would have thought that Pikachu was powerful enough to take down our mecha like that?"

Hearing what the Pokémon just said, Jessie suddenly got an idea as she smirked.

"That's it! That's what we should do!" she exclaimed with joy.

"Huh?" James and Meowth asked, confused.

"Think about it." she began to explain. "Pikachu aren't exactly among the most powerful Pokémon. Am I right?"

"Yeah." James nodded.

"Well, this Pikachu in particular was able to take down our mecha in one hit! If anything, this Pikachu is probably the most powerful of his species, which makes him rarer than an average Pikachu."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Meowth asked, smirking as he was starting to understand what Jessie was trying to say.

"What are you guys thinking?" James asked, still confused.

"I'm thinking that we should capture that Pikachu and bring him to the Boss!" the red-haired woman exclaimed in excitement.

"Yep! That was what I was thinking!" the feline exclaimed proudly.

"Oh! Of course!" James exclaimed as he finally got it. "Hee-hee-hee-hee! The Boss will be so proud of us when we'll bring him that Pikachu!"

"Then, it's official. Our main objective will be to capture that Pikachu at all cost!" Jessie proudly exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah!" Meowth exclaimed. Suddenly, his stomach started to growl. "Hum... Heh-heh... Before we do that, could we stop at some restaurant? I'm starving." He said, sheepishly.

Jessie's stomach started to growl as well.

"Alright. We will stop at a restaurant. If I remember correctly, James is the one in charge of our money. How much money we can spend on our meal?" she asked the blue-haired man.

"Hum..." he nervously said. "Well... Hum... The thing is... I already spent all of our money."

"You WHAT!?" Jessie and Meowth screamed at once.

"Don't worry! I use it to buy us a rare Pokémon!" James said, trying to reassure them.

"Huh? A rare Pokémon?" the red-haired woman asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I was going to keep it a surprise to you guys until later this week, but now that you know, may as well tell you already about it." he said, sheepishly.

"So, what kind of Pokémon is it?" Meowth asked eagerly.

"Well, get ready... Because I'm going to tell you that I bought... a Magikarp!" James proudly exclaimed.

Instantly, Jessie and Meowth were literally slack-jawed at that.

"A... Magikarp?" the feline asked in disbelief.

"You used all of our money to buy... a Magikarp?" the young woman asked, also in disbelief.

"Yep! The salesman sold it to me for $500. He would have sold it to me for $1,000 if I hadn't seemed like a nice guy to him." The young man proudly said.

After several seconds of just staring at him, Jessie's eyes twitched before she finally snapped and jumped at him. She grabbed him by the collar and started slapping him in the face several times in a row.

"You moron! You idiot! You fool! You stupid, STUPID blue-haired partner!" she exclaimed furiously at him.

"Ow! Jessie! Ouch! Stop that! Ouch!" James complained as he received the numerous slaps in the face.

"This isn't a good start..." Meowth said as he slapped his forehead.

* * *

End of chapter.

Ash, Pikachu, and Brock have exited Mt. Moon after meeting several members from Team Rocket. In the next chapter, they'll arrive in Cerulean City.

Jessie, James, and Meowth, ladies and gentlemen! Oh, boy. I have the feeling I'm gonna have a LOT of fun with these three during this fanfic.

Honestly, the easiest part here was writing the Team Rocket motto, especially since I know it by heart. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who knows it by heart either.

Read and review!


	6. The Girl from Cerulean City

Actually, SoulfulGinger17, the Helix Fossil is an Omanyte, which is what Ash got. The Dome Fossil is the Kabuto. Admittedly, the fact Ash managed to get several Pokémon already sorta reflects how many Pokémon I got the first time I played "Pokémon Yellow" when I was just a kid. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I'll try to make sure Ash won't catch too many Pokémon, but he'll still catch more Pokémon than he did in canon.

Also, to anyone who faved and/or are following my fanfic, I'm kindly asking you to leave reviews to my chapters. I wanna hear what you guys think of what I've done so far. The more reviews I get, the more motivated and inspired I am to write the following chapters, the sooner they come.

Chapter 6: The Girl from Cerulean City

The next morning, near some river, someone was fishing, waiting for a water-type Pokémon to get stuck on the hook. That someone was a 12-years old girl. She was red-haired, with a small side ponytail on her left, and had green eyes. She was wearing a yellow sleeveless shirt, blue jean shorts with red suspenders, and red and white sneakers. At this moment, she was waiting patiently, holding her fishing rod in her hands. Suddenly, the girl felt something pulling the hook. She immediately held it tighter before using the fishing reel to bring what she got out of the water.

"Oh, yeah! I finally got one! Come here! Come here!" the girl said in excitement.

As she gave one final pull, the Pokémon she got appeared out of the water. However, much to her disappointment, it wasn't the kind of Pokémon she wanted exactly.

"Oh, geez... Just another Magikarp." She said, sighing. "As if like we don't already have a lot of these already."

The girl then grabbed the Magikarp from the hook and threw it back in the river. She then looked at her watch. The girl stood up, put the fishing rod in a red backpack and went on a nearby bike.

"Okay, Misty. Time to go, or else your sisters will kill you." She said to herself before leaving the river with the help of her bike.

* * *

Meanwhile, in some road, a certain trio of criminals was digging a hole in the ground.

"If those twerps had been traveling through the mountain, and judging by the direction they went when we tried to steal that fossil, they must be on their way to Cerulean City." Jessie said while using a shovel.

"And so, by digging a hole on this road to that city and using it as a trap, we get ourselves one free Pikachu." James said while using a shovel too.

"And we're gonna offer it to the Boss and he's gonna reward us with a promotion or something like that!" Meowth said in excitement, using a shovel as well.

A few minutes later, they dug deep enough for the hole to trap the heroes. They then covered it to make it look like a part of the road.

"There!" Jessie said, dusting herself off. "Now, all we need to do is waiting in those bushes until the twerps arrive and we'll be successful!"

Just as Jessie and Meowth were heading towards the bush, they stopped in their track when they heard a scream and the sound of someone falling. Arching an eyebrow each, they turned around and noticed that someone already fell into the trap. Confused, the two of them came near the hole and their eyes widened in surprise when they saw James at the bottom of the hole, looking dazed.

"James? What are you doing there!?" Jessie asked in disbelief.

"Well, I noticed one of my precious bottle caps fell off my pocket, so I went to grab it back. The problem is I just forgot the hole was right between me and the cap, so..." he said in a dazed tone.

The red-haired woman slapped her forehead at that.

"This is starting to sound like a scene from a cartoon." She said in annoyance.

"Could you help me climb back up?" James sheepishly asked.

Jessie sighed before kneeling down and extending her hand towards the blue-haired man. All of sudden, she tripped and fell down the hole, landing on top of James. The long-haired woman was gradually becoming angrier by the seconds.

"This is REALLY starting to sound like a scene from a cartoon and I don't like it!" she yelled in annoyance.

"Maybe we should complain to the author of this fanfic." James suggested.

Suddenly, the hole started to get deeper as Jessie and James fell down even further, landing in the water of some sewer that was underneath them as they screamed. The two of them were then dragged away by the water. The feline Pokémon held his head in annoyance.

"If I had any common sense whatsoever, I'd leave them in the sewers and avoid getting myself wet." He said to himself before sighing. "Unfortunately, they also happen to be my only friends, so..."

The normal-type Pokémon then dove into the water, screaming as he was dragged by the water too.

* * *

After they woke up, Ash, Pikachu, and Brock were ready to eat breakfast. The breeder made some waffles for the three of them to enjoy. As it turned out, he was a great cook, if Ash and Pikachu's appreciation of his waffles were any indication. Soon after they ate their breakfast, they went back on the road, going towards Cerulean City.

"This is gonna be great. I can't wait to get my second badge!" the trainer exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Pika!" the Pokémon said, just as enthusiastic.

The three of them stopped walking when they noticed a hole in front of them. They slowly came nearby, being careful not to fall down. They looked down and noticed it led to some sewer.

"Why is there this hole in the middle of the road?" Brock asked.  
"Maybe there are some construction workers who are working on it." Ash suggested.

"Well, I don't see any construction worker here. They should have at least put some sign to warn people about that hole to avoid anyone falling down there."

"You're right. I'm just as confused as you are."

They both shrugged before continuing on their way. Suddenly, the boy from Pallet Town noticed a bottle cap on the ground. He grabbed it, looked at it for a moment, and put it in his pocket, thinking it was some lucky object like a four-leaf clover or a lost penny.

Several minutes later, the three of them noticed a sign in front of them. They came close to it and read what was written on it: Welcome to Cerulean City.

"Woo-ooh! We're finally here!" Ash exclaimed with joy.

At this moment, Brock arched an eyebrow and noticed something else was written on the sign.

"Hum, Ash? Have you read that part?" the breeder asked.

"Huh?" the trainer looked at what Brock was pointing at.

On the sign, there were a few more words written on it: Gary was here, Ash is a loser.

Reading those words, the trainer became more furious. He always hated his rival's attitude towards him, always thinking himself as being superior in every way, but this was just too far. At this moment, the breeder felt the anger rising in the trainer.

"Hum... Ash..." Brock said, worried.

"I HATE HIM!" the boy from Pallet Town yelled. "He ain't gonna get away with this!"

Soon after, the boy ran as fast as he could, going past the sign and heading into Cerulean City.

"Ash, wait!" the teenager exclaimed as he ran after him.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu exclaimed as he chased after them.

* * *

Somewhere in Cerulean City, Misty was riding her bike, heading towards some place. Suddenly, she noticed a certain boy from Pallet Town running from one street corner to another.

"I'll show him HE'S the loser!" Ash exclaimed.

Soon after, a certain breeder appeared, running after the boy.

"Stop running like that! You're gonna get yourself hurt!"

Misty arched an eyebrow, wondering who those two were. Suddenly, she yelped in alarm as she noticed a certain electric-type appearing in front of her.

"Watch out!" she exclaimed.

Looking where that voice came from, Pikachu panicked when he saw the bike coming fast towards him. The girl tried all her best to brake so she could avoid crushing the Pokémon. Seeing as how he didn't have the time to run away, there's only one thing the electric-type felt he had to do to avoid being crushed.

"Pika...CHUUUUUUUUU!"

Misty yelled in pain as her bike and herself were electrocuted. Ash and Brock stopped running when they heard Pikachu's attack and yelped in shock when they turned around and saw what was going on.

"Pikachu! STOP!" Ash yelled.

The electric-type stopped his attack, sighing in relief that he hadn't been crushed. Misty fell down her bike, groaning in pain. Her bike, on the other hand, looked like some burned toasts. Ash and Brock arrived nearby, gasping in shock.

"Pikachu, are you alright?" the trainer asked his Pokémon.

"Pika." Pikachu nodded.

Misty slowly turned around to look at her bike. Her eyes widened in shock when she noticed what her bike was like now.

"My... My... My bike..." she said, speechless.

"I'm terribly sorry." Ash said, feeling bad for her. "I'm sorry that my Pokémon fried your bike like that. I'd like to apologize for that..."

He was interrupted as the girl turned around. Her eyes were filled with fire. The boy from Pallet Town gulped at that.

"You..." she said.

"What the..."

"YOU DESTROYED MY BIKE!" Misty yelled as she stood up, grabbed her bike and held it up, as if like she was about to use it as a weapon against the boy.

Ash, Pikachu, and Brock screamed in panic as they ran away as fast as they could to escape her wrath.

"RUN FOR YOU LIFE!" the boy yelled as they ran.

"Come back here!" the girl exclaimed as she kept chasing after them.

Soon enough, Pikachu noticed a dark alleyway. He motioned Ash and Brock to follow him, which they did without complaint. Several seconds later, Misty arrived in the alleyway, looking for the one responsible for the fate of her bike. She looked around, noticing that no one was there. The girl frowned before turning around.

"I swear, I'm gonna make him pay for my bike..." she said to herself.

Misty left the alleyway, going somewhere else. A few seconds later, a nearby dumpster opened by itself. Ash, Pikachu, and Brock coughed as they couldn't stand the smell in that dumpster.

"First thing to do: go to the nearest Pokémon Center and take a shower." Ash said.

"I totally agree on that one." Brock said before coughing.

"Man, that girl was crazy!"

"Can you blame her? Pikachu fried her bike." The teenager said.

"Yeah... Come to think of it, I'd probably had the same reaction if it happened to me." The boy admitted.

"Pikachu..." the Pokémon said, looking down.

"Don't worry, Pikachu. Accidents can happen to anyone." The trainer said. "Personally, I hope we won't run into her anytime soon."

"And I hope what you just said won't turn into irony if we DO run into her anytime soon." The breeder said.

"Don't be so pessimistic, Brock."

"Just sayin'. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, though."

* * *

About two hours later, Ash, Pikachu, and Brock exited the Pokémon Center. The two humans took the time to take a shower while their Pokémon had their health fully restored.

"I feel so much better now." The breeder said, stretching his arms while they walked away.

"Me too." Ash said. "And now, all we need to do is find the gym and..."

Suddenly, the boy stopped talking when he noticed a house with the words "Pokémon House" on it. Curious to see what this place was exactly, Ash headed towards it, followed by Pikachu and Brock. Going inside of it, the heroes noticed it looked like the inside of a typical house: a table at the middle, chairs, shelves, etc. There was a teenage girl there. She had blue hair and was wearing a pink short-sleeved shirt, red overalls, and yellow shoes.

"Hi! My name is Melanie. How may I help you?" she asked them with a smile.

"Hi. My name is Ash, and those are Brock and Pikachu. I was wondering what this place was about." The trainer said.

"This is a place where I take care of Pokémon that have been abandoned all around Cerulean City. It's kinda like a Pokémon Center, the keyword being 'kinda'."

"I see..." Ash then noticed Brock was blushing at the sight of Melanie. "Hum, Brock? Are you alright?"

"So pretty..." the breeder said.

"Yeah, this place looks pretty." The boy said.

"That's not what I meant." Brock added, sweatdropping at his friend misunderstanding him.

Before he could think any further about it, Ash noticed the Pokémon inside the house. One of them was a Sandshrew. Another was a blue plant bulb with feet. It had beady red eyes and five green leaves on top of its head. The trainer took his Pokédex to scan it.

"Oddish. Grass-type and poison-type Pokémon. It wanders around at night, and it buries its face in the ground during the day."

"Oddish!" the grass/poison-type said.

"This one looks cute." Ash said, petting its head.

"Bulbasaur!"

Suddenly, the trainer's eyes widened as he heard that voice. He turned around and noticed another Pokémon. It looked like a blue quadruped dinosaur with a green bulb on its back. It had red eyes, white claws on each paw, and several spots around its body that were of a darker shade of blue. Ash was smiling widely at the Pokémon.

"Oh, my gosh! It's a Bulbasaur!" the trainer exclaimed before using his Pokédex again.

"Bulbasaur. Grass-type and poison-type Pokémon. Since its birth, the bulb on its back stores energy every day."

"Wait, if you already knew it was a Bulbasaur, why did you use your Pokédex to identify it?" Melanie asked.

"By scanning a Pokémon with my Pokédex, it registers it. That way, I can show to anyone any Pokémon I've came across, whether I captured it or not." Ash replied.

"I taught him that a few days ago." Brock proudly said, trying to impress the teenage girl.

Ash arched an eyebrow before looking back at Bulbasaur. At this moment, he heard a stomach growling. The trainer looked down and noticed Pikachu rubbing his stomach.

"Pika..." he said, hungry.

"Hold on for a second, Pikachu." Ash said before kneeling down and searched in his backpack. A few seconds later, he grabbed a box filled with Pokémon food from there, put some of the food in his hand, and extended his hand towards the electric-type. "There. Tell me if it's enough."

Slowly, Pikachu ate the food in his trainer's hand. The electric-type looked pleased as he took bites out of the food. Melanie and Bulbasaur observed the two of them as they interacted with each other.

"Pikachu!" the Pokémon exclaimed with joy after he was done eating.

"Do you need any more food?" Ash asked.

"Pika." Pikachu shook his head.

"Alright then." The boy said before putting the box back in his backpack.

After Ash stood up, Pikachu climbed up his body and arrived on top of his head. The trainer was amused by that.

"Okay, it was nice to visit this place. But we gotta go now. I still need to fight the Gym Leader here." He said.

"Wait a minute." Melanie said before they could leave. "I was thinking... You should bring Bulbasaur with you."

"Huh?" Ash asked, surprised to hear that.

"It's been a while since Bulbasaur is here." She said. "I know his personality and I think he needs someone to train him in battle. Fight is something he has in his blood. However, he also needs someone who can take good care of him. I've seen how you interacted with your Pikachu. If that's how you take care of your Pokémon, then I think it would be great if Bulbasaur became one of them."

"Well... That seems so sudden. I don't know." The boy said, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess that depends if Bulbasaur wants to come with me or not."

"What do you think, Bulbasaur?" Melanie asked the Pokémon.

"Bulba." The grass/poison-type said as he extended a vine from his bulb until it was at the same level as Ash's face.

"Hum... What does he want?" the trainer asked.

"I think he wants to shake your hand." She replied, smiling.

"Saur." The Pokémon nodded.

Smiling as well, the boy grabbed the vine and shook it like it was a hand.

"Welcome aboard, Bulbasaur." Ash said before grabbing a Poké Ball and throwing it at the grass/poison-type.

Bulbasaur disappeared inside the Poké Ball. After a few seconds, it stopped shaking before Ash held it in the air.

"Alright! I've got a Bulbasaur!" he exclaimed with joy.

"Pi-Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed, making a peace sign.

"I promise I'll take good care of him, Melanie." The trainer said to her.

"I'm sure you will."

Suddenly, Brock came right next to her and held her hands together.

"I hope our path will cross back one day." He said in a charming way, making Melanie looked confused at his behavior. "Or if you want, I could always stay here by your side..."

"Come on, Brock! I've got a badge to win!" Ash exclaimed, excited to get his second badge as he grabbed Brock by his shoulder and dragged him away.

"Wait, Ash! I wasn't done yet!" the teenager complained.

"Bye, Melanie!" Ash waved at her, who then waved him back.

* * *

A few minutes later, Ash, Pikachu, and Brock were heading towards the Cerulean Gym. As they headed towards it, the trainer noticed someone walking and was surprised to recognize that someone.

"Wait... It's..." he said as it took a few seconds before he could clearly identify him. "Tracey! Hey! I'm over here!"

Tracey turned around as he heard his name. He looked at Ash and his friends. The watcher was then able to recognize him properly.

"Oh! Hey there, Ash! I wasn't expecting to see you anytime soon." Tracey said as he came next to them.

"Me neither. By the way, this is Brock. Brock, this is Tracey." Ash said, introducing them to each other.

"Wait, aren't you that guy who made some drawings while watching a few of my fights the other day?" Brock asked as he shook Tracey's hand.

"Yeah, it was me."

"Okay, now I remember who you are."

"You're traveling with Brock now?" the watcher asked the trainer.

"It's a bit of a long story." Ash replied. "So, I'm guessing you came here to watch the Gym Leader doing some battle, right?"

"Yeah, although I already managed to do that yesterday. I'm on my way towards Vermilion City now. Who knows? Maybe we'll end up meeting each other there." Tracey replied.

"Yeah, maybe. So, you've seen the Gym Leader in action. Any tip?"

"Well, for one thing, it's not ONE Gym Leader, but THREE. They're three sisters who are ruling the gym. However, you only get to fight one of them for the badge, not all three of them. Second, they use water-type Pokémon. If I were you, I'd use Pokémon that are effective against water-types." The watcher replied. "That's about all I can say to help you out."

"Thanks a lot, Tracey. It was nice seeing you again." Ash said.

"Same here." Tracey said, smiling. "Well, gotta go now. See ya!" he waved at them as he left.

Ash and Brock waved back at Tracey before continuing on their way.

* * *

Back with Misty, the girl was looking tired as she was pushing her bike until she arrived at where she was supposed to go. She was next to some dome-shaped building. It was colored in yellow and pink, along with lots of blue waves painted on it. 'Cerulean Gym' was written above the entrance. Misty went through that entrance, bringing the bike along with her. Inside the gym, she walked around until she arrived in some hallway.

"There you are!"

The girl turned around and noticed three teenage girls. At this moment, they were all walking barefoot, wearing nothing but one-piece swimsuits. The first one had long blond hair, green eyes, and a flower on her hair, while her swimsuit was red. Her name is Daisy. The second one had long blue hair, brown eyes, and a red hairband, while her swimsuit was green. Her name is Violet. The third one had long pink hair and blue eyes, while her swimsuit was yellow and had a blue bowtie on it. Her name is Lily.

"Where have you been? It took you longer than usual to come here!" Daisy exclaimed to Misty.

"Hum... What happened to your bike?" Lily asked, noticing how fried her bike looked like.

"That's why I was late. Some idiot let his Pokémon electrocute my bike!" Misty yelled in annoyance.

"Where you heading towards the Pokémon before it electrocuted you?" Violet asked.

"That Pokémon came out of nowhere! I was braking, but it panicked and electrocuted it anyway!"

All of sudden, a doorbell was heard, causing the girls to stop what they were doing.

"Great. Your first opponent has arrived." Lily said.

"Make our family proud, sis!" Daisy said.

"We're gonna go greet him or her while you prepare yourself for the fight." Violet said.

"Alright then." Misty shrugged.

Her three older sisters left as the red-haired took a look at her bag. She found a few Poké Balls inside of it.

"Okay, I got my Poké Balls. Time to get ready for the fight." She said before entering a nearby room.

* * *

Ash, Pikachu, and Brock looked in awe as they were inside the gym. At this moment, they were in a large room, with a pool at the center and tiered seats on each side. A few platforms were floating in the pool.

"It looks like a public pool." The boy said.

"Fitting since it has water-type Pokémon living in this gym." The teenager said.

"Welcome to the gym, boys!"

The three of them turned around and looked at Daisy, Violet, and Lily, who just arrived next to the pool.

"Hello, girls." Ash said. "You must be the Gym Leaders here, right?"

"You got that right." Violet said. "We are..."

"Magnificent!" Brock exclaimed as he arrived in front of them. The teenager was blushing at them. "Hello, my name is Brock and I couldn't help but notice how much you were looking like the prettiest mermaids on Earth."

"Hum..." the three girls said, sweatdropping.

"Are you here to challenge us?" Lily asked.

"Hum... No, but..." Brock began to say.

"Actually, I'm the one who's here to challenge you." Ash said. "I'm gonna get my second badge before the end of the day!" he exclaimed in determination.

"Pikachu!" the Pokémon exclaimed in determination as well.

"I see. However, we will not be able to fight you today." Daisy said.

"Huh? Why?" the boy asked, confused.

"Well, not only are we Gym Leaders, but we also perform underwater shows for a large audience." Violet said.

"And today, we must repeat for our next show." Lily said. "However, we asked our younger sister to replace us for today. If you beat her, you get the Cascade Badge."

"She'll be here at any moment." Violet added.

As if right on cue, Misty appeared from a nearby door. She was wearing a red and white two-pieces swimsuit, and red sandals. The red-haired girl also had a towel around her neck.

"Okay, sis. I'm ready to fight my oppon..."

Misty stopped talking. Her eyes widened when she recognized Ash.

"You!" she exclaimed while pointing an accusing finger at him.

The boy panicked when he recognized her as well.

"Hum... Hey, how are you?" Ash sheepishly asked.

"YOU RUINED MY BIKE!" Misty yelled as she charged towards the boy, wanting to make him pay for what happened to her bike.

Immediately, Ash ran behind Brock, scared of the red-haired girl. However, Misty's sisters restrained her from harming the boy.

"Hold on, Misty!" Daisy exclaimed.

"You're not supposed to fight your opponent like that!" Lily exclaimed.

After a few seconds, Misty calmed down, allowing her sisters to release her.

"Oh, so you want to fight for the Cascade Badge, huh? Well, that's the perfect opportunity to show you not to mess with me." She said to Ash.

"It was an accident! It wasn't done on purpose!" Ash protested.

"Whatever... Let's start this fight and be over with it."

* * *

A few minutes later, Ash and Misty were standing on each side of the pool. Pikachu was standing next to the boy from Pallet Town. Brock was sitting in the tiered seats. As for Misty's sisters, they had gone to another place where they could repeat their show.

"In this fight, each trainer will be able to use two Pokémon." Misty explained. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" the trainer exclaimed.

"Alright. I choose you, Staryu!" the red-haired girl exclaimed while throwing a Poké Ball.

Soon after, a Pokémon appeared on one platform. It looked like a brown-colored starfish with five appendages. The center of its body was golden, with a red jewel on it. Ash took his Pokédex to scan it.

"Staryu. Water-type Pokémon. It can grow back any lost appendage during a battle." The Pokédex said.

"_Tracey told me to use Pokémon whose types are stronger than water-types._" Ash thought. "_If I remember correctly, grass-types are stronger, so..._"

He smirked as he grabbed one Pokéball in particular.

"Bulbasaur, go!"

Bulbasaur appeared on another platform, ready to fight.

"Bulbasaur!"

"Bulbasaur, use Tackle on that Pokémon!" Ash ordered.

The grass/poison-type jumped from one platform and landed on the one with Staryu on it. He then tackled the starfish, sending the latter into the water. Staryu came back at the surface, not looking like it had taken much damage.

"Staryu, use Water Gun!" Misty ordered.

The starfish shot water from its top appendage at the grass/poison-type. The latter groaned in pain, but not much due to the fact that water-based attacks weren't that strong against his species.

"Bulbasaur, let's try Leech Seed!" Ash exclaimed.

"Bulbasaur!" his Pokémon nodded.

A brown seed was shot from the Pokémon's bulb and was sent towards Staryu. However, it missed the starfish. Misty smirked at that.

"Now, Staryu! Show them what's a real Tackle!" she ordered.

Staryu jumped from the water and charged towards Bulbasaur, tackling him hard enough to send him into the water.

"Bulbasaur!" Ash shouted at the sight of that.

A few seconds later, the grass/poison-type floated back to the surface, too dazed to continue.

"Bulbasaur, come back." The boy said as his Pokémon went back inside his Poké Ball. "I don't get it." he said as he looked at the Poké Ball. "He's a grass-type. How could he lose to a water-type?"

"You still have a lot to learn about Pokémon in general." Misty said to him. "Having a Pokémon with a stronger type is useful, but not when the opposing Pokémon has more experience than him. Also, if you haven't noticed, Staryu's Water Gun didn't do much against your Bulbasaur. However, it was by using Tackle, a normal-type attack, that it was able to win against him. Judging by that, I'm assuming you haven't use Bulbasaur much before, or that you never used him at all."

Ash closed his eyes, thinking about which Pokémon he should use next.

"_I need someone who is strong against water-types, but also had enough experience in fights._" He thought. His eyes opened wide as the answer became obvious to him. Ash turned to the rodent nearby. "Pikachu, I'm counting on you."

"Pika!" the electric-type nodded before jumping on the nearest platform.

"_How ironic. The one Pokémon responsible for destroying my bike. Let's see how well he goes against my Pokémon._" Misty thought. "Staryu, go back on the platform!"

The starfish nodded as it went back on the platform.

"Pikachu, use Thundershock!" Ash ordered.

"Pika-CHUUUUUU!"

The rodent managed to electrocute Staryu. The latter was shaking around in pain. As soon as Pikachu stopped his attack, the starfish fell on its back, its center constantly blinking.

"Staryu!" Misty shouted. "Come back!" she exclaimed as her Pokémon disappeared into its Poké Ball. "You did well, Staryu. You need to rest for a while."

"Yeah! One more Pokémon and we'll get the badge, Pikachu!" Ash cheered.

"Pika!"

"You haven't won yet. Starmie, it's your turn!" the red-haired exclaimed as she threw a Poké Ball.

Another Pokémon appeared on the platform that was closest to Misty. That Pokémon was similar to Staryu. However, it was taller, larger, purple instead of brown, and had a second star attached to its back. Once again, Ash took his Pokédex to scan it.

"Starmie. Water-type and psychic-type Pokémon. Evolved form of Staryu. The core of its body glows in seven colors."

"Starmie, use Harden!" Misty ordered.

The purple starfish shone brightly for a brief moment.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.

The rodent ran fast enough as he jumped to land on the other platform. Pikachu then hit Starmie as hard as he could. The starfish was able to resist without much pain.

"Tackle that Pikachu, Starmie!" the red-haired girl ordered.

Her Pokémon spun around before charging at the electric-type, hitting him hard enough to send him back on the platform next to Ash. Pikachu screamed in pain at that.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed. "Are you alright, buddy?"  
"Pika pika." Pikachu nodded as he stood on all four, glaring at the starfish.

"Good to hear that. Use Thundershock, Pikachu!"

"Pika-CHUUUUUU!"

"Jump, Starmie!" Misty ordered.

The starfish didn't waste time as it jumped in the air, avoiding the electric-type's attack.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack again!" the boy exclaimed.

"Pika!"

The rodent did the same attack as earlier, running from one platform to the other and hitting Starmie. This time, he was able to send the Starfish into the water.

"Here's our chance! Thundershock now!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika... CHUUUUUUUUU!"

Sending his electricity into the water, Pikachu managed to electrocute Starmie. Several seconds later, the electric-type stopped using his attack. Starmie then tried to come back on the platform, struggling as he was too weakened by the attack, after several seconds of trying, the starfish gave up and floated on its back, its center blinking like Staryu did.

"Starmie!" Misty exclaimed. Reluctantly, she took her Poké Ball and aimed it at the Pokémon. "Come back. You did your best." She said while the water/psychic-type came back.

The red-haired girl then kneeled down, disappointed that she lost her fight against Ash.

"Well, Ash, you won. Congratulations."

Misty took something from her pocket and threw it to the other side of the pool. The boy from Pallet Town caught the object, almost falling into the water while doing so. He then looked at the object, which was a badge shaped like a blue raindrop. Ash smiled widely at the sight of that.

"Woo-ooh! I now have the Cascade Badge!" he exclaimed with joy as he held the badge in front of him.

"Pi-Pikachu!" the rodent exclaimed while making a peace sign.

"Congratulations, Ash!" Brock applauded as he stood up from his seat.

The rodent then climbed up on Ash's shoulder, while the latter came next to where Misty was.

"You were a great opponent. Although, I sure hope you're still not bitter over this whole bicycle thing." He said to her.

"Oh, this ain't over yet, Ash. In fact, I'm gonna make sure you're gonna refund me my bike." She said, with determination in her eyes.

"Hum... How much did it cost?" he asked, in a slightly nervous tone.

Misty leaned in and whispered something in his ear. Ash's eyes widened at what he just heard.

"THAT much!?" he asked in shock.

"Yes, THAT much!" she exclaimed as she leaned back, glaring at him. "It's either that, or finding a bike voucher that would be exchanged with a brand new bike."

"But I don't have all that money! The only way I could get such money is by becoming rich and famous as a Pokémon Master, and I don't think it's gonna happen tomorrow, so..."

"Well, then, it's settled." Misty said, smirking at him.

"What is settled?"

"I'm gonna follow you on your journey until you get me a new bike, whether you like it or not. I'm not gonna let you disappear like that until then."  
"What?!" Ash exclaimed in shock. "You can't be serious!"

"Yes, I am." The red-haired girl said, with determination in her eyes.

"Wait, did I hear that right?" Brock asked as he arrived next to them. "You're gonna come with us?" he asked the girl.

"Yep."

"This is going to be a long journey..." Ash said, rubbing his forehead in disappointment.

"Pika, Pika-pi..." Pikachu said, trying to cheer up his trainer.

* * *

End of chapter.

It's now Misty's turn to join our main characters. Next chapter, they'll visit some guy named Bill.

Misty is 12-years old here, simply because that's how old she was in "The Electric Tale of Pikachu".

Yeah, I couldn't think of something else to replace the bike as Misty's reason to travel with Ash, so I decided to keep it. However, I've got a pretty good idea about it I'm gonna use later, but I won't tell since I would just spoil the story. I just hope you won't be too disappointed with the idea I have in mind when I'll use it.

Read and review!


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